Valencia Sisters (1)
Back at Valencia Castle, Yushin immediately threw himself into sword training, swinging his blade relentlessly. To be precise, it was training to control the Demon Core of Rampage Flame embedded in his body.
He planned to accept the unyielding power of the Rampage Flame Demon King as his own while harmonizing it with Karus's lightning.
That spear-wielding bastard's swordsmanship back then was definitely Sabnack's style. Did my instincts tell me her sword form would be perfect for wielding the power of rampage flame? The results were pretty underwhelming, though.
His sword path was utterly clumsy. Compared to Sabnack, the true master, his proficiency and precision were so poor it made his eyes water.
Starting from scratch, he recalled the swordsmanship he'd learned from Rampage Flame in the dream world. He decided to use that near-perfect sword dance as the foundation to make it his own.
"Whoa."
Alonne, who had been watching Yushin lost in thought as he swung his sword repeatedly to shape the demon king's techniques, let out a gasp of admiration. She crouched with her chin propped on her hands, eyes glued to the scene.
As someone walking the path of the sword, she could tell. Yushin's swordsmanship was close to divine art—flawless, without a single wasted motion. He seemed dissatisfied, but to ordinary swordsmen, it was something to aspire to.
"It's incredible, really."
Leticia, watching Yushin train in the same practice yard as Alonne, shook her head in awe.
Paaang! Pahaaak!!!
The air ripped with sonic booms, kicking up fierce clouds of dust. Get too close, and your tendons would snap in an instant. Just the sharp aura scattering around made it clear.
A top-tier swordsman at the pinnacle swung with the destructive force of mass-scale magic.
"But it feels a bit different from Teacher's swordsmanship..."
"It's the demon king's style."
"The demon king... You mean Sabnack, the Rampage Flame Demon King?"
"Yeah. Pretty amazing, right? He's recreating it by recalling his fights with her."
"Impossible for us mere mortals."
His arm muscles rippled as he gripped the hilt tight and swung. The motion grew savage with each strike. Watching Yushin's sweat-drenched, ferocious movements, Alonne and Leticia's faces flushed bright red.
Puhahang!!!
Yushin leveled his sword horizontally and thrust forward, unleashing a sudden gust of wind.
"Tch! Not quite..."
After swinging like a madman, Yushin frowned and lowered his blade. He recalled Rampage Flame's swordsmanship again—the techniques he'd been forced to master through hundreds of deaths.
It was swordsmanship so intense that his two cute disciples stared blankly, even drooling unconsciously. Yet the man himself scowled in dissatisfaction, rating himself a stingy 65 out of 100.
"Yushin."
Ardena approached. She held her sword, ready to be his sparring partner.
El Seed's sword. The high elf, armed with the slender blade adorned in blue gems, stood opposite him.
Wanting to help with his training, she'd volunteered as his pure swordsmanship opponent.
"Would you like me to be your opponent?"
"I'd be grateful."
Yushin nodded at Ardena's offer and raised Karus. They pointed their sharp tips at each other, correcting their stances for the duel.
Yushin promised not to unleash Karus's lightning, and Ardena agreed not to activate the power granted to El Seed's sword. No special abilities—just pure swordplay.
"Captain Ardena all of a sudden..."
"What do you mean 'all of a sudden'? She's been peeking from over there forever."
Alonne replied to Leticia's mutter. She'd been watching her sister hesitate like a girl with a crush, wondering if she'd be a bother. Finally mustering her courage, Ardena had achieved her goal from afar, like a voyeur. Alonne clenched her fists, cheering her sister on.
"Reminds me of that time."
"Me too."
Yushin and Ardena clashed, swinging at each other. They shifted their feet, launching second strikes while adjusting stances. Their sword swings evoked a razor-sharp storm.
A ear-splitting clash of metal, followed by a surging blade aura. Representing Valua Kingdom and Liberia Elf Kingdom, their pure sword strikes carried immense weight.
"Sharper than back then?"
"I'm wielding Master's sword. It's the one I'm most used to."
Ardena's swordsmanship with El Seed's blade was incomparably keener than on the battlefield. What a weapon buff. Yushin thought that if he'd faced her armed like this back then, he might've been done for. Just a hypothesis, of course.
"So much has happened since then. So much chaos, my head's been spinning."
Yushin grinned wide, parrying Ardena's swing. He recalled being captured on the battlefield, dragged as a POW by the elves, then auctioned as a slave in Pamplona and sold to her.
Was "blessing in disguise" coined for times like this? Treated better than in Valua Kingdom. No incompetent king or corrupt nobles to deal with. And in a land of beautiful elves, his eyes feasted.
"Mm... So should I thank you for capturing me as a POW?"
Yushin teased with a mischievous grin. Ardena paused her attack, smiling faintly.
"You're the first to say that. And the first I've heard it from."
With that, she resumed swinging, pressing the assault.
* * *
I should tell the family I met them, right? Thinking so, Liana came to Valencia Castle and informed Allen.
Rocksfield family. He'd called them "Rocksfield." She reported that a sleek, dignified middle-aged man had led troops into the Akiteon Mountains.
"Sounds busy these days."
Allen's reaction was lukewarm. In her ronin beast form, she swished her wolf tail side to side, utterly nonchalant.
"Family, huh...?"
"Yeah. Not that I care or anything, but thanks for going out of your way to tell me."
Liana felt puzzled by Allen's indifference to news of her distant family. It didn't make sense. Wouldn't anyone be thrilled to hear about their relatives? Raised in a harmonious home, Liana's confusion deepened.
"They came to the Akiteon Mountains to hunt down the kingdom's rebel ringleaders who fled there..., ma'am."
She'd tried speaking casually to Allen like she did Yushin, but recalling how mercilessly Allen had butchered in Urhel village under Ardena's watch, she couldn't bring herself to. Like a herbivore before a predator, she shrank back.
"Rebels?"
Allen echoed, seemingly oblivious even to Valua's current state.
"Rebellions are popping up everywhere in Valua right now..., ma'am. Cities and villages falling left and right, even the capital's in peril..., they say?"
"Hah, good riddance. Serves 'em right."
"Pardon?"
Liana blinked at Allen's cheerful tone. Wasn't she a kingdom knight? Sworn to life for her homeland, loyalty to the crown, devotion to the people? Allen seemed to wish for her country's fall. The dissonance unsettled Liana.
"Isn't Valua your homeland..., ma'am?"
"Yeah, it is. So what? Being born there doesn't mean I owe it my loyalty."
"But..., the national laws say otherwise, ma'am."
"Don't nitpick my words. What do you want me to do? I became a knight just to follow my brother into the Kingdom's Seven Swords. Sacrificing for the homeland? Loyalty to the crown? All bullshit."
Allen Rocksfield was a fiercely individualistic knight. She fought for herself and Yushin alone. Born in Valua or to a knightly house? She wasn't one to swallow obligations meekly. A rebel spirit through and through.
"Father and the three idiots. Still playing the kingdom's hunting dogs, huh."
People called the Rocksfields "the kingdom's hunting dogs." Loyal hounds offering kills to their master—sinking fangs into prey's necks, then presenting the carcass for approval.
That was House Rocksfield. Instrumental in Valua's founding, they'd reigned as the pinnacle of knightly houses, amassing feats for the realm. Born with superhuman physiques transcending humanity, their "hounds" still hunted for the kingdom.
Rebellions nationwide? Hope Mom's okay.
Allen brushed off Liana casually, but one worry nagged her: her mother. The matriarch, Countess Rocksfield. She didn't care if her father and brothers died abroad, but Mother was different—the only one in that monster-labeled family who'd been on her side.
She'll be fine. Who'd be crazy enough to target the kingdom's hunting dogs?
Allen shook her head vaguely.
Still, maybe I should visit once. If I ask Brother to come along, he'll probably say yes... He was awfully obvious about liking Mom. Ugh, pisses me off. Is he even human? Hitting on a married woman.
Recalling Yushin's blatant interest in her mother, Allen fumed at his boundless lack of fidelity.