Chapter 23
Chapter 23
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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 23
Chapter Title: Move. Please, Move.
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I spent the given time training like a madman.
Every single day, I swung my sword, thinking of that wolf monster.
How could I cut down those things with their absurd reaction speeds? I researched and researched.
I delved into the powerful ki the Grand Duke had shown me, and I didn't forget his advice to forge my soul into a single blade.
Was it because of that?
My sword ki grew even sharper, my movements more agile.
I was even able to come up with a few strategies that might work against the wolf monsters.
But in the end,
I couldn't reach the state of Entrusting Sword.
“Wow… looking at it from here… it’s so beautiful. The Psychedelic Moon.”
Without having reached Entrusting Sword, I faced this day once more.
Milo’s eyes were lost in a dream as he gazed at the colorful moonlight pouring in through the skylight.
My heart grew endlessly bitter as I looked at him.
‘I couldn't stop it.’
The truth was, I hadn't just been training my swordsmanship recklessly all this time.
The two long weeks I was given in this time loop—wasn't it perhaps meant for me to prevent the coming tragedy?
With that in mind, I also took action on multiple fronts.
The most suspicious thing was the ‘procedure’ Milo had mentioned.
After all, most of the trainees who turned into monsters, including Milo, were students who had undergone that ‘procedure’.
I convinced Iodine and Commander Brook to investigate on multiple fronts. The ‘procedure,’ the ‘drug,’ even the suspicious light that had erupted from the south of the city.
In the end, it was all a failure.
For starters, there was no one who took my words seriously yet.
Even after I pestered them until they finally found the drug in question,
‘Hmm… we found nothing particularly unusual. A more detailed investigation will take another three weeks.’
That was all I heard. Dammit. In three weeks, everything would already be over.
And so, today came again.
With nothing to show for it.
‘Still, I have to try.’
I just have to hope my slightly more refined swordsmanship and new strategies work.
“Grrr… Si-Sir Lansen… Grrk… My-my body… feels strange….”
Grrrrrr—
Watching Milo’s body twist and the trainees transform with monstrous screams, I coldly drew my sword.
Sorry, Milo.
Honestly, I don't have the confidence to protect you too.
But at the very least…
I will protect Iodine, no matter what.
I'll fend off these monsters and finally go home today.
* * *
‘Move! Please… move…!’
My mouth tasted of iron.
My joints, enhanced by Aura and Body Sword, creaked.
When was the last time I’d swung my sword so desperately?
It wasn't even like this with Count Ksias.
Maybe it was like this when I killed the Blood Count Delkash with my wrist and shin blown off.
My nerves were so on edge they felt like they would burn away.
To kill the wolf monsters with their bizarre reaction speeds, I had to move three, even four times as fast.
I swung my sword until they could no longer evade, breaking them down and forcing them into the positions I wanted.
One by one, I steadily cut them down.
Kyaaaa!
Each time I cut down a monster with Vanroah, the severed surface burst into white flames.
The holy grace that destroys evil was manifesting its power.
Unlike before, the ones killed this way did not rise again.
“Lansen! I told you we should divide our roles! If you block, I’ll—!”
“Quiet!”
Iodine proposed the same tactic as before, but I flatly refused.
The first reason was that the monsters Iodine killed came back to life, and the second was… it was the only way to save her.
Just like this.
Rumble! Crash!
When the bellies and chests of the wolf monsters blocking our path suddenly exploded, I was already charging toward them.
If I had just stayed back and deflected attacks like before, I never would have been in this position at this timing.
“Lansen!!!”
Just like last time, Iodine rushed to protect me, but her position forced her to remain behind me.
Kwadududuk!
Tadadang!
Dozens of tentacles shot out like an explosion, hammering against my aura shield.
The shattered aura glittered and scattered, and my skin was torn in several places, but I didn't die.
Thanks to Iodine, who had managed to get close and block quite a few tentacles even in that chaos, I avoided any injuries that would hinder my fighting.
Iodine screamed at me.
“Are you crazy?! Do you have a death wish?!”
I stared blankly at her face.
‘I saved her… this time.’
She was so perfectly fine that her face was flushed red as she shrieked at me.
If we weren't in the middle of a fight, she probably would have grabbed me by the collar.
But,
A death wish…? Are you one to talk?
“If you have the energy to talk, swing your sword instead.”
“Lansen!!”
Ignoring Iodine, I charged at the monsters again.
I was getting anxious.
Thankfully, I had saved Iodine,
and I had already killed twenty monsters.
But… I was uneasy.
‘What if my mission isn't just to win, but to protect the cult's holy artifact?’
That thought made me endlessly anxious. More than two hundred monsters had already ignored us and left the banquet hall.
This wouldn't do.
I had to break through and protect the artifact.
‘Move…!’
I swung my sword desperately.
Why isn't it working?
Entrusting Sword, the state where the sword moves on its own.
The realm felt like it was just within reach, yet I couldn't grasp it.
‘Move!!’
Wooooong!
Woong!
In my grasp, Vanroah cried out pitifully.
As if it wanted to move on its own.
As if begging me to let it move.
Woong—
Woooong—!
But in the end, Vanroah never moved on its own.
[History alteration has failed.]
As I fought until my body felt like it would break, that voice came again.
[Consuming shattered causality to rewind time.]
Ah… so protecting the cult's holy artifact really was the goal.
The sentences in the Book of Fate faded away.
Now, only the four words ‘To my master…’ remained.
Does that mean this is the last chance?
[I wish you good fortune in battle.]
Failure.
Even after saving Iodine and fighting tooth and nail to cut down over forty monsters… failure.
Thanks to that, I knew for certain.
That unless I reached the state of Entrusting Sword, I would never overcome this trial.
* * *
“Master. How in the world do I achieve Entrusting Sword?”
Back at the beginning once more.
The moment I saw the Grand Duke, I asked.
A flicker of surprise appeared in his eyes before they calmed.
“…You’ve come very close to Entrusting Sword. You’re just one step—no, half a step away.”
I thought so too. But I had no idea how to take that half step.
“No matter how I call to it, it won't move.”
“That is why it does not move.”
“Pardon?”
“Do you order your heart to beat? Do you shout at your stomach to digest faster?”
“What? Ah, no.”
“Then why do you keep trying to order your sword? Don’t do that. Simply accept it.”
“…”
“Entrusting Sword is the state where the sword becomes a part of you. It moves not because you command it, but because it *is* a part of you. While it is classified as a separate state, it is ultimately nothing more than a step on the path to Sword-Self Unity.”
“Sword-Self Unity…”
It was strange.
As I listened to the Grand Duke, a thrill ran through me.
I felt a tingling sensation, as if I’d been struck on the back of the head.
Is this the teaching of the greatest sword in the world?
I felt a conviction that this was the right path.
So, how should I train?
Clip-clop.
The horse ambled along, and a cool breeze blew across the light green fields.
The Grand Duke gazed into the distance for a moment before giving me an answer.
“Let’s do this.”
He pointed a finger at Vanroah, which hung at my waist.
“For the time being, do not draw your sword.”
“Don't draw my sword?”
“That’s right. You are not to draw the sword. Let the sword draw itself. Until then, be patient.”
Hmm…
It was an unexpected instruction.
I had been prepared to clash swords with the Grand Duke as soon as I returned this time, too.
‘No… maybe this is for the best?’
Throb.
The injuries I sustained don't disappear even when I return to the past.
My body was still a wreck from swinging my sword to the breaking point.
Perhaps noticing my condition, the Grand Duke acted differently than in the previous timeline.
“We’ll go a little further and then rest for a while, Lansen. In the meantime, keep your hand on the hilt of your sword. Do it with the mindset of opening a door, allowing the sword to read you and seep into you.”
“Understood.”
At my reply, the Grand Duke smiled faintly and placed a hand on my shoulder.
“Don’t worry. Looking at your eyes, I can tell you’ll grasp it soon. You have no other choice.”
What about my eyes?
Hearing his cryptic words, I placed my hand on the sword’s hilt as the Grand Duke instructed.
It’s a strange thing.
Just a short while ago, I was busy being wary of this man.
Now, he felt like my true master.
* * *
The Grand Duke was right.
It really didn’t take long.
I thought I was blocked by a very high wall…
But when I broadened my perspective and looked around, there was a small path beside the wall.
The teaching of the greatest sword in the world was the truth.
I knew it the moment I saw Iodine again in front of the lord’s castle.
Thump.
Thump-thump.
My heart pounded.
Damn…
Am I this easy?
I have a fence.
A fence that separates those I must protect from those I don’t.
Of course, that woman did risk her life to save me, but…
Have I known her long enough for her to have already crossed my fence?
My pounding heart screams at me.
Protect her.
Protect her at all costs.
And sever the neck of the darkness looming over this city.
Wooooong—
Woong—
Following the beat of my heart, Vanroah cried out with it.
The Grand Duke’s teaching was right.
The sword was already a part of my body.
Just as my heart beats, this thing cries.
Protect Iodine, and save this city. Vanroah's trembling was already my own true feeling.
The Grand Duke, who had been watching me intently in front of the lord’s castle, let out a dry laugh.
“I thought you would realize it soon, but this is faster than I expected.”
At his words, Iodine, who hadn't grasped the situation, asked blankly.
“Huh? What is?”
What do you think?
Entrusting Sword.
Woooooooong—
I accepted Vanroah’s trembling with my entire being.
I opened wide the concept of ‘myself’ and included it within.
At that moment,
Shing—
Vanroah was drawn.
I was holding the hilt, but I wasn't the one who did it.
When I came to my senses, the sword was already drawn, and sword ki was flaring from its tip.
“What the—!”
“How dare you, in front of the Grand Duke…!”
The startled knights moved their hands to their hilts, but,
“Stop.”
The Grand Duke’s heavy presence suppressed them, and no one could draw their sword.
Under the Grand Duke's gaze, which was a mix of interest and satisfaction, I pointed the drawn sword at Iodine and spoke.
“My senior…? I've got no intention of treating someone weaker than me as a senior. So… let’s fight. Senior.”
“Wha-what?! Junior! What is with that thuggish way of speaking?! Now that you're the master's disciple, you should conduct yourself with proper decorum…! And not speak improperly…! And…!”
Iodine’s face turned bright red as she shrieked.
I smirked annoyingly and flicked the tip of my sword.
“Too much talk. You can just beat me if you want to prove your point. Let's make a wish on it, shall we? Loser grants the winner's wish. If I lose, I'll do all that proper decorum whatsit and improper whatsit you mentioned. Oh, and for the record, I won't use my unique constitution.”
“Why would I—!”
“Why? You scared?”
Iodine gaped, dumbfounded, then looked at the Grand Duke. Her expression clearly asked if he was just going to let this happen.
But the Grand Duke was not on her side.
“What’s the matter, Iodine? Are you scared?”
“Ha!”
That was the final blow.
And so, my duel with Iodine began in front of the lord’s castle.
‘It worked.’
The right to a wish.
I brought it up like a joke, but in truth, I desperately needed it.