Lightning Sword (2)
Yushin moved. At the same moment, Bariteon heard thunder.
A deafening roar echoed through the sky, like countless bolts of lightning crashing down over the vast ocean all at once. The academy students who heard it felt as if their eardrums were splitting.
“A swordsman who wields lightning? How intriguing!” Bariteon shouted.
The human hadn’t even drawn his Lightning Sword. Just swinging his bare hand had unleashed a bolt from his palm.
The high elf warrior captain found it fascinating. Facing the lightning head-on, he showed no fear. Amid the barrage of countless strikes, he wore a cheerful grin.
“Master!” Alonne cried out.
At her call, Yushin spoke. “Step back. I’m gonna turn that punk’s face into dough.”
“You got this, Master!” Alonne cheered, and Yushin nodded.
But then Leticia stepped forward, trying to stop Yushin from fighting Bariteon.
“No, Teacher! He’s a high elf—a warrior captain! And Bariteon Trident is a big shot even the Yetzirah Council can’t ignore!”
They absolutely couldn’t fight. Attacking Bariteon Trident, who wielded top-tier power and influence in the Elf Kingdom, would be suicide for a human slave. This was Bariteon’s trap. He’d picked a cheap provocation to start the fight, then pull some sly trick for a cowardly win.
Leticia raised her voice, insisting they couldn’t fight him.
“Don’t worry, miss. I started this because I really wanna fight that human. I’m a warrior captain who aims to be a real man’s man. No dirty tricks from me.”
Bariteon chuckled as he spoke. Leticia bit back the urge to scream, You were just hitting on me and Alonne, you punk!
But his words weren’t total lies—his disciples watching from the sidelines didn’t interfere at all. They focused solely on shielding the academy students from getting caught in the crossfire.
“I smelled it on you—something like me. The scent of a fighter, that beastly instinct dying for a bloody brawl where guts spill and blood flows. How could I just sit back when I meet a beast like that? I’ll take full responsibility for this fight!”
Bariteon bellowed, radiating fighting spirit. It was the bold valor of a warrior drunk on the thrill of battle.
His disciples reacted with, “Knew it.” He had a reckless personality—spot a strong opponent, and he’d charge right in. Some nodded knowingly, having half-expected him to pick a fight with Yushin on purpose.
“Draw your weapon, Yushin.”
Bariteon raised his hand, and the air’s moisture froze into a spear shape. Eternal Snow.
The pure white frozen spear was one of the sacred relics granted to warrior captains who defended the Liberia Elf Kingdom. If Ardena had received the White Lily Scale, Bariteon had been bestowed this spear called Eternal Snow. Like the White Lily Scale, which granted near-infinite power to virgin wielders, Bariteon’s Eternal Snow was a weapon of immense authority.
“Erect the barrier!” Bariteon commanded.
His disciples skilled in magic extended their hands, deploying a shock-absorbing barrier. They’d clearly prepared for a grand showdown. No way they’d have all this ready otherwise.
But Yushin faced Bariteon head-on, refusing to dodge the fight that had come to him.
“You punk, you’ll pay for messing with my precious students—by getting buried.”
“Not gonna lie, I’m not into milky little brats. Affairs with ripe married women? Now that’s welcome.”
“Shut it.”
Yushin drew his Lightning Sword Karus. The sword and spear clashed instantly, shaking the barrier sealing the area.
A lightning-wielding swordsman versus a spearman of ice. Thanks to the shock-absorbing barrier, the academy students witnessed the spectacle of a Kingdom's Seven Swords member battling a warrior captain up close.
“What the— I can’t see a thing...” Alonne’s eyes went wide.
But she couldn’t make it out. No sword forms, no flow of battle. The clash of those who’d far surpassed mortal limits left her jaw on the floor.
Each swing of spear and sword made the barrier scream. Even with dozens maintaining it, it barely contained the shockwaves from their weapons.
Thunderbolt Eight Forms
Thunder Claw Strike
Boom! Boooom! BOOOOM!!!
Three resounding impacts hammered the barrier. As thunder poured down, Bariteon—who’d charged at Yushin—went flying back.
“Cough! Cough, cough!! Whoa, that hurts. Haven’t felt pain like this in ages...”
Bariteon spat blood-mixed coughs. He’d crashed straight into the barrier before regaining his footing. He’d only managed to deflect the impact.
The Lightning Sword’s assault came in three strikes. Bariteon blocked the first but crumbled under the second. The third left him in a sorry state.
“Hoo.”
Yushin exhaled deeply, gripping his Lightning Sword with both hands as he glared at Bariteon, preparing the next form. The next attack was coming.
Bariteon spat blood-flecked saliva and bared his teeth, raising Eternal Snow. A fierce blizzard whipped up from the spear tip.
“My eyes didn’t lie—you’re the best! Be my rival! I’ll beat you right here!”
Blow, frost of the north wind. Rage, blizzard of the tundra.
Kraaaack.
The frost began freezing the ground. The barrier’s floor turned to slick ice.
“Heh, hehahaha!!”
Bariteon laughed loudly, his breath billowing white. He clashed with Yushin, who swung his Lightning Sword.
Lightning shot out in sharp strikes, but Bariteon parried skillfully, keeping the fight going. In this icy world, swordsman and spearman traded fierce blows. It wasn’t one-sided like before. Lightning and ice, sword and spear wove a breathless melee.
The elves watching from beyond the barrier held their breath, eyes glued to the outcome.
* * *
Quitting time at last.
Liana watched students heading home through the window, thinking it was time for her to clock out too. Was it because she’d had the day off yesterday? Or from getting chewed out by her respected senior? Her whole body ached with fatigue. She craved getting home, ripping into some fried chicken, and chugging ice-cold beer.
Chimaek after work is the real sex. Not that I’ve ever had sex. What’s sex got that chimaek doesn’t? No matter how great, it can’t beat chimaek!
Liana whistled as she stood. Gotta hustle. Last time she’d crossed the section chief and got stuck with extra work.
“Instructor Liana!”
Someone bellowed her name. She poked her head out, looking toward the voice.
“Ugh.”
The section chief. That witch-like hag. Best play: pretend not to hear and bolt. No way she’d let some hag ruin her fun sex time. A measly academy section chief blocking a warrior captain’s sexy fun? Unthinkable.
“Don’t pretend you didn’t hear and run!”
The chief yelled. Every teacher in the office turned to stare at Liana. Busted.
She abandoned her window-escape plan. No choice with everyone watching. Didn’t want a pay cut, so she’d follow orders.
“There’s a knife fight breaking out in the academy—head to the main gate!”
“K-Knife fight?!”
“Before any students get hurt!”
“Yes, ma’am!”
Violence in the academy? Absurd. Who’d pull a blade in Bria Academy, the Elf Kingdom’s top school? But that strict chief wouldn’t lie. If true, the students were in danger. As an instructor, she had to stop it.
“H-How am I supposed to stop that...”
Near the main gate, where the barrier shimmered, Liana froze in shock.
Yushin was fighting. Against Bariteon, no less.
Bariteon Trident. High elf, third-ranked warrior captain. His disciples stood guard around them.
KRAAAKABOOM---!!!
Thunder roared. The destructive force from inside the barrier shook the ground. Without it, Bria Academy—pride of the elves—would’ve been half-destroyed.
What the hell is that power? No way I could handle him. For real... that’s a human...?!
As time passed, Yushin started overwhelming Bariteon. Lightning rained nonstop, shattering the ice floor into scattering shards. Blocked by the storm of bolts and blizzard, she couldn’t see clearly, but Yushin’s lightning swordplay rivaled a natural disaster.
Witnessing it, Liana swore never to mess with him again.
“Grraaaahhh!!!”
Bariteon roared, swinging Eternal Snow laced with frost. Yushin’s body began to freeze—but he summoned lightning to vaporize the chill. He raised his Lightning Sword high, blocking Bariteon’s downward thrust from above.
The plunging icy force stalled the lightning momentarily, but it surged back fiercely, driving out the cold.
“Yes—that face! That’s how you do it!!”
Bariteon grinned. Yushin was finally unleashing his inner fighter.
A sword proved its worth in swings. Same for the swordsman wielding it. Regular swordsmen felt it, let alone the Kingdom's Seven Swords, guardians of the realm.
The fight was so exhilarating Yushin grinned ear-to-ear, genuinely thrilled.
“Bariteon!”
Yushin shouted his name, eyes blazing.
“Thanks for the hospitality, but you gotta pay for hitting on my girls. Starting with smashing that face.”
“No mercy, huh.”
“Nope.”
“Good! Real men’s fights don’t hold back!!”
Words done, Yushin and Bariteon charged, resuming the brutal melee. A savage slugfest unfolded. Students watching gripped their fists in tension—the battle between Kingdom's Seven Swords and warrior captain was dead even.
Yushin seemed to gain the edge, only for Bariteon to counter, keeping it unpredictable.
“Bariteon Trident, since you call me your rival, I’ll call you mine too.”
Yushin said, brushing frost from his clothes and tearing off his sleeve near the shoulder. A glowing red Stigmata appeared—the mark of an Another One from another world.
Seeing the stigmata on Yushin’s shoulder, Bariteon bared his teeth in a grin.
“I’m Yushin Gilliard, Another One Yushin Gilliard.”
“Hahaha! Yes! To be this Bariteon’s rival, you gotta be an Another One!!”
Bariteon roared with laughter, inspired by Yushin’s fighter spirit. He repaid it with a mighty strike.