Since Ancient Times, There Have Been Two Swords - 3
Hesha was a character with many secrets.
She wasn't even famous enough to have been mentioned a single time before her appearance.
Though she possessed outstanding power, she lived quietly without flaunting it, like a reclusive master.
The fact that such a woman had won the Martial Arts Festival—where experts from every region gathered—turned the kingdom upside down.
At a time when the image of adventurers and guilds was plummeting, an adventurer named Hesha claimed victory with an overwhelming performance.
The Holden royal family realized they had been neglecting talent all this time.
Thus the kingdom began searching far and wide, gathering talents like Hesha.
Even after building up their strength that much, it was absurd that they were destroyed overnight by the Demon King.
Still, it hadn't been meaningless.
Under the fallen kingdom, with Kang Junhyuk as the starting point, everyone united to stand against the demon race.
If the kingdom hadn't recruited talent, the experts might have been defeated one by one, and humanity might well have been destroyed.
That was how great Hesha's influence on the main story had been.
In fact, there were quite a few speculative posts on the community saying that without Hesha in the war, they would have lost…….
If I built a friendship with her from now on, I had no doubt she would become a reliable force later.
I followed closely behind Hesha, suppressing my presence, my footsteps, and even my breathing as much as possible.
It seemed to be going smoothly—until she suddenly started running somewhere.
Had she realized she was being tailed?
If my tailing had been discovered, it would be better to stop, but if I missed her this time, it felt like there would be no more points of contact with her.
It seemed necessary to take on some risk.
Stalking someone isn't really my style…….
Sighing deeply at the fact that sometimes you have to do things you don't like, I spurred my legs on.
I ran following the faint wild scent lingering in the air.
The unintended chase only came to an end after we reached the wasteland outside the village.
In a space with no cover whatsoever, I couldn't even deny that I had been following her.
"Who are you? Who are you to be following me?"
Hesha drew the greatsword on her back and slammed it into the ground.
It meant she wouldn't hesitate to fight depending on the situation.
A greatsword of considerable size that suited the expression "crush" far more than "slash."
Someone else might have been shaken, but I didn't care at all.
Because Hesha wasn't a swordsman who used a greatsword.
"If I made you uncomfortable, I apologize. But I had no intention of harming you whatsoever. I just didn't know how best to approach you."
"Even so, I think tailing someone isn't proper etiquette toward the other person."
"I offer my sincere apologies for that."
I bowed at the waist to express my heartfelt apology to her.
Among adventurers whose pride pierced the heavens, bowing at the waist was of course unheard of.
Of course I wasn't an adventurer, but to Hesha, that bow would come across as significant.
"So why did you chase after me?"
"I heard you're looking for the Full Moon Stone."
At the words Full Moon Stone, Hesha's eyebrows twitched.
There were complicated circumstances entangled in why she reacted so sensitively to the Full Moon Stone.
"The Full Moon Stone is a stone that awakens and arouses the instincts of magical beasts. And on the other hand, it's a special mineral that fully contains the essence of the moon."
"So?"
"Since you don't seem to be a magical beast tamer, the value of the Full Moon Stone would be significantly less. Yet the reason you desperately want it is perhaps……"
"Because the client wanted it so strongly that they put up a huge sum of money."
Was she planning to dodge with that excuse?
I could lead her to bring out the true reason, but beating around the bush wasn't my style.
"The eyepatch over your left eye is quite unique."
"……So you know everything."
Hesha pulled out the greatsword stuck in the ground and slung it over her shoulder.
She must be intending to kill me to shut me up.
Normally I would have tested whether I could fight equally against the Martial Arts Festival champion.
But right now I was a swordsman without even a single sword, let alone Frach.
How could a swordsman without limbs fight?
"Haha…! Extreme choices are harmful."
"Do you know who made it that way when you say that?"
The greatsword pointed at me.
Hesha was threatening me while easily lifting a greatsword the size of her own body with one hand.
Absurd strength. Even thinking it over again, fighting her without a weapon was absurd.
Even if we both didn't take up weapons, I couldn't guarantee I could win.
"Please calm down. I'm an unarmed civilian, you know?"
"If you were a civilian, you shouldn't have chased after me and poked at me."
"If I even mentioned a truth that shouldn't be spoken, doesn't that mean I wanted to gain the other party's trust that much?"
"I see. I'll show my courtesy by giving you the chance to eliminate you right here."
It seemed conversation was hopeless for resolving this.
Had I spoken too directly?
I had planned to mention her secret and propose a deal saying I knew a solution.
But even if I spoke indirectly, given Hesha's personality, it would have gone through the same process.
It had taken Kang Junhyuk a long time to get close to her too.
To get close in a short time, I had no choice but to crush her with power. She was the type who followed the strong, after all.
"It can't be helped."
I clenched my fist tightly and took a stance.
If you have no teeth, use your gums. Instead of a sword, I intended to fight with magic-infused hand-to-hand combat.
Seeing that Hesha wasn't putting away the greatsword either, it seemed she didn't intend to use her main weapon.
Then even if winning was hard, at least an opportunity to prove my skill would arise.
"One bout, if you please."
"Don't expect any mercy."
Hesha kicked off the ground and closed the distance in an instant.
As she raised the greatsword to smash it down, I leaped backward out of range.
Kwaang!
With a strike that shattered the earth, rocks flew in all directions.
As expected from the weight and size of the blade, it was absolutely not a sword that existed to cut the opponent.
Yet Hesha was handling the greatsword freely.
"Can't you move any faster?"
"Of course not…!"
Watching the trajectory of the greatsword, I dodged and dove into her guard.
I swung my clenched fist with all my might toward Hesha's chin, but she quickly raised the greatsword upright.
With a heavy thud, the greatsword and the bones in my right arm began to tremble severely.
Having slammed my fist hard into a hard iron plate, the impact was no joke.
But this too was within my expectations.
"It might tingle a bit."
"Magic…?"
The magic circle I had prepared on my hand activated, and high-voltage current burst out.
Fortunately, since the sword was made of a conductive material, Hesha immediately let go of the greatsword.
But since electricity's speed is far too fast, some of the current flowed into her body.
Furrowing her brows and trembling all over.
It was the early symptoms of paralysis.
"Using such a cheap trick…!"
"You should have kept it in mind beforehand."
I don't miss openings created by wrong judgments.
Taking advantage of Hesha's both hands being empty, I approached her again.
A straight punch aimed at her abdomen.
I expected it would be a clean hit since there was no greatsword to protect her this time—but even while electrocuted, Hesha flipped in midair and dodged spectacularly.
Then she immediately drew two swords she had hidden under her sleeves.
Not a greatsword user but a dual-sword user. Hesha's main weapons were dual swords.
Being ambidextrous, she skillfully used any weapon, and when she took up dual swords, she became one of the world's top experts.
Normally she sealed both arms with the heavy greatsword, but when she got serious she pulled out the dual swords.
But I didn't expect her to show her true colors already…….
"Your leeway ends here."
Hesha showed resistance that lightly ignored the paralysis and charged at a faster speed than before.
Even if I parried one sword rushing at me with the back of my hand, the other sword from the opposite side came flying on a different trajectory.
Even if I barely blocked that, the first sword I had blocked was approaching again.
Extreme consecutive slashes with no delay.
I poured my concentration into it since missing even one block or dodge would lead to a fatal wound, but my body started to dull.
Starting from my hands, small wounds began to be carved all over my body.
Should I use a tactic of sacrificing my body, relying on my natural recovery, to look for a counterattack opportunity?
As extreme measures swirled in my head, that was when.
"How dare you point a blade at Master so freely?"
Chaaeng!
With a friction sound, sparks flew from the sword clash and Hesha's body was pushed back.
A black-haired woman naturally standing in front of me.
Her sword was still in the scabbard at her waist.
A swordsman with a quick sword in a different sense from Hesha.
It was Lin, known in the world as the Blind Sword Saint.
"To dare target my unarmed Master in front of me, your guts are quite something."
"……Are you that man's companion?"
"Not companions, but lovers who love each other!"
At Lin's single remark, my face heated up.
Coming on so suddenly made me embarrassed.
"Then the woman behind is a companion, I suppose."
Hesha's finger pointed at Rene, who had arrived late.
Apparently Lin and Rene had been spending time together in this area.
Last time they were hostile, but it seems their relationship had improved.
"She is…… the Holy Sword's sister-in-law."
Lin, like me, spoke directly without beating around the bush.
Hesha, not knowing the meaning, tilted her head, while Rene was yelling at Lin asking if she was crazy.
They say people who love each other come to resemble each other, and it seems that's not wrong.
"Anyway, that's not the important talk. The fact that you harmed Master. Just for that, I will eliminate you right here."
"Do it if you can."
An unexpected match between the strongest adventurer and the Sword Saint.
It was a matchup that made my chest swell, but my gaze was actually going elsewhere.
Lin's sword and Hesha's dual swords. If they clashed…….
"Is this a 3P?"
"B-Bern?!"
The dwarves' customs were ruining my values.