The Sword Master's Resolve
The unprecedented new match was prepared at breakneck speed.
As I stepped onto the arena once again amid the roaring crowd, I found myself wondering just how far my so-called destiny was willing to drag me into one incident after another.
Ever since leaving Dmitry, my luck had been absolute garbage. At this point, it was clear I was the type of person who should never travel.
Once I get back to the academy, I'm just going to hole up there and never leave.
The world was so filthy and underhanded that the academy actually felt like heaven by comparison.
— We now present the special exhibition match personally arranged by His Imperial Majesty between the two victors.
The crowd's cheers were so thunderous they shook the entire arena. Apparently the tournament had been too one-sided thanks to the overwhelming favorites.
And most of them were screaming Robenin's name.
How disgusting.
Considering the age difference and professions involved, Lord Robenin Pedri is prohibited from using his left hand.
These people really know how to look down on someone.
“Both contestants, please greet each other.”
I couldn't believe I had to hear that same tired line again, even after winning the whole damn tournament.
“Robenin Pedri. A swordsman.”
“Jeanie Crowell.”
“This is my first time fighting a Spirit Master.”
“I don't want to talk to you.”
“Ready.”
“Undine.”
I shrugged off the annoying academy cloak and tossed it aside, summoning Undine as I did.
This was already my third match today, and my insides felt like they were rotting away.
My internal injuries weren't healing—they were only getting worse. The doctor was going to kill me. I should've drunk more of that disgusting green juice earlier.
“Yes, Master!”
I issued the rapid orders while keeping Robenin in my sights.
Feeling nervous because of my opponent the moment I stepped onto the arena was a first for me. Up until now, I'd only faced kids in the junior division, so I'd never experienced this kind of pressure.
To think I'd suddenly be up against a monster like him.
My luck really was broken beyond repair.
Three. Two. One. Begin!
The instant the match started, Undine's form vanished.
Robenin's eyes twitched faintly as he stared at the spot where she'd been.
In that brief moment, a massive torrent of water surged toward him from every direction.
Normally, that would have been the end of it. But Robenin dodged it effortlessly.
He lightly pushed off the ground and shot forward.
He was moving far faster than the water could wrap around him. Just as I expected.
“Undine!”
Undine, who had been waiting in the middle, revealed herself and transformed into a wave that crashed over him.
Even so, she couldn't keep up with his speed. She only managed to grab onto his ankle.
The moment he was caught, Robenin stabbed his sword down into the water.
But Undine's liquid form wriggled like slime, clinging heavily to his ankle and refusing to let go.
It wasn't ordinary water—it was compressed water. He couldn't shake it off easily.
“Master! I've got him!”
The water continued to expand, completely engulfing his lower body, but Robenin remained expressionless and calm.
That was when a bluish aura began to coil around his bladeless sword.
What rose from the blade like heat haze was unmistakably Sword Aura.
It was my first time seeing it in person.
The terrifying thing about Sword Aura was that it could cut through anything—including spirits.
Sword Aura was a sword technique capable of disrupting magic itself.
As long as he could use it, the fact that his sword had no blade was completely meaningless.
“Run, Undine.”
Water cut by Sword Aura completely escaped a spirit's control.
Undine shot high into the air before he could slash her, and from that moment on, rain began pouring down across the arena.
Creating rain consumed an enormous amount of mana. I could already feel a slight wave of nausea.
I have to end this quickly.
“So this is what a spirit is like.”
“...You're awfully relaxed.”
“That's right. I want you to feel what a spirit can really do.”
Robenin, standing in the rain, looked as casual as if he were taking a leisurely stroll near his house.
The Sword Aura around his blade vanished for a moment.
It was common knowledge that Robenin Pedri was the youngest person on the continent capable of using Sword Aura. The next youngest was a nineteen-year-old Holy Knight, so the gap was enormous.
Realizing his genius all over again only made me feel even more annoyed.
“What? Are you not going to attack?”
The rainwater pooling around me shot upward, forming a cage-like structure that surrounded me.
But its defensive power was practically nonexistent.
It was only there to snatch him the moment he got close.
“That looks dangerous.”
“It is.”
The entire area around me was covered in puddles, and every single one was a trap. They were all waiting for the chance to seize Robenin.
The plan was to bind his limbs the instant he stepped on one and hurl him out of the arena.
The problem was that he refused to get caught. He moved faster than the water itself.
“Tsk.”
That noisy commentator is getting on my nerves.
Whenever he got close, I slid across the water to quickly change position.
It let me move faster than running on my own, and it was only possible because the floor was made of smooth marble.
The water helped me naturally, like it was breathing with me, while thoroughly obstructing him. I was barely managing to keep him at bay.
But he soon grew used to the water's interference. He began slicing through it with Sword Aura under his feet as he charged.
The water needed to grab his ankle and compress to hold him, but he kept leaping away before it could compress. I couldn't catch him.
“What should we do, Master!”
“This is so annoying.”
There was no choice. If this wouldn't work, I'd have to use that method.
Creating a water droplet the size of the entire arena.
There was no way to avoid the enormous mass of water floating above the arena. For the first time, Robenin was completely sucked into it.
The water droplet surrounding him rapidly began to shrink.
The reason for compressing water was to exert crushing pressure on a human body.
Just like how a human would be crushed to death if thrown into the deep sea without any protective gear.
“Crazy bastard.”
But even while being compressed, Robenin unleashed his Sword Aura and sliced the droplet apart, bursting it open.
My precious water! Do you have any idea how much mana that took?!
“This isn't working. Undine! Remove.”
This was a technique I really didn't want to use, but losing was even worse.
Since he wouldn't give me time to compress, I had no choice.
The water masses that swiftly clung to him began to take on a reddish hue as time passed.
In other words...
It was a form of bloodsucking.
It was draining the opponent's bodily fluids. Truthfully, it was a difficult technique for a lower-rank spirit like Undine to use, so I'd wanted to avoid it. But if I wanted to win, I had to use every tool available.
When a human lost blood too quickly, their body would go numb.
Robenin seemed to realize what the water surrounding him was doing a little too late. He began creating Sword Aura and slicing it away.
While he cut away the masses attached to his shoulder, waist, and knee, the one on his ankle had already turned a deep, bloody red.
I couldn't let him die from blood loss, so the droplets were kept small. I didn't have enough mana to make them any bigger anyway.
But of course, Robenin wasn't the type to get dizzy from losing that little blood.
He mercilessly sliced apart the bloody mass on his ankle and charged straight at me.
Unfortunately for me, I was backed into a corner.
“Damn it. Fog!”
Since I couldn't dodge, I decided to block his vision instead.
The rain transformed into thick mist, immediately swallowing Robenin whole.
“Undine, make it as dense as possible!”
In just a few seconds, the fog completely covered the entire arena.
The problem with this technique was that even I had no idea where Robenin was.
I was trying to escape by following Undine, but she suddenly shoved me.
I dropped to the ground just as a sword sliced horizontally through the space where my head had been.
“You crazy bastard!”
I couldn't help but scream out loud. Before he could swing again, I grabbed Undine and slid as far away as I could.
At this point, I was so out of breath it was hard to even speak. Whether it was stamina or technique, the longer the fight dragged on, the more disadvantageous it clearly was for me.
If my mana ran out, I couldn't do anything. On the other hand, even if he ran out of mana and couldn't use Sword Aura anymore, he could still swing his sword.
“Damn it... I thought I'd win.”
Muttering to myself, I made a desperate decision.