The Academy’s Hard-Headed Swordmaster

A crimson flash swallowed a cerulean one.

The azure flash, refusing to be outdone, bristled and resisted the crimson onslaught.

The two flashes, locked in a furious exchange, finally retreated, each sharpening its ethereal teeth.

‘It’s not fake.’

An Aura Blade can only be countered by another Aura Blade.

That crimson flash was a genuine Aura Blade.

Of course, its density was ridiculously low, and its duration wasn’t very long—but it was enough to decide the outcome of a duel between two swordsmen.

“Haa, Uhahaha-! This realm, unattainable by so many… I’ve finally reached it…!”

Damian, drool dripping from his chin, gazed at his Aura Blade with a covetous look.

The image of a madman. Kyle frowned slightly and pointed his sword at him.

“Shut up. You’re not a kid—don’t get so worked up over a measly Aura Blade.”

“……Measly?”

That single word seemed to prick Damian’s pride.

An even fiercer aura began to emanate from his sword.

Kyle knew that this aura was nothing more than a foolish expenditure of life force.

‘Crazy bastard.’

An Aura Master is someone who can project their aura outside their body. Aura is life force itself, akin to blood.

What Damian was doing was no different from piercing his entire body and spraying blood everywhere.

For a brief moment, he would possess the same power as an Aura Master, but…

‘It won’t last long.’

It seemed he had prolonged the duration and reduced the side effects with some unidentified object, a “Fruit of Life” or something.

But it was undoubtedly riddled with flaws and adverse effects.

The advantage of an Expert-level knight momentarily gaining Master-level strength simply overshadowed all the drawbacks and side effects.

“Haha- Hahaha! Uhahaha! What’s wrong, Kyle-!”

Damian, recklessly squandering his life force, pressed his attack on Kyle.

Realizing that he could win simply by holding out, Kyle had a fleeting thought—a regretful one.

The thought that crossed his mind made him wonder if he, too, had gone mad.

Regretful?

His opponent was a Master, albeit temporarily, with power equal to his own.

Someone who could even take his life if he wasn’t careful.

‘…Regrettable.’

Finally understanding his own feelings, Kyle swiftly retreated and muttered towards Arthur, who was lying on the ground.

“Arthur. Get out of here.”

“What? I can’t leave you, Kyle—”

“You’re in the way, so get lost—!”

Arthur froze, staring into Kyle’s blazing eyes.

They were like the eyes of a predator fixated on its prey.

Trembling, Arthur quickly regained his senses and fled.

Whether Damian, intoxicated by his power, still understood the importance of stopping Arthur, he immediately gave chase.

Kyle swung his Aura Blade at the approaching Damian.

Crimson and azure, the two Aura Blades clashed, scattering sparks like starlight.

“Get out of my way—! You damn brat!”

“On second thought, it’s a waste.”

“What?”

‘Swoosh!’

Pushing Damian back with a swing of his sword, Kyle couldn’t suppress a grin.

Before him was an opponent of near-equal skill, someone he could die fighting.

Wasn’t this the rival he’d been searching for since he was an Aura Expert, the perfect opponent for real combat?

“I could win by dragging this out—but there’s no meaning in such a victory.”

He didn’t need a hollow victory.

Even if it meant dying here, Kyle wanted to cross swords one more time.

It had been impossible since becoming a Master, as he lacked a worthy opponent… but now, a worthy adversary had presented himself.

“—Come at me.”

“Ha, Haha- …I thought you were just a talented brat.”

Like a true knight.

Damian thought as he looked at Kyle standing before him.

He had never seen such a dignified knight.

And because of that—.

“Damian Lotus.”

“Kyle Meyer.”

Both instinctively knew this fight wouldn’t end until one of them fell.

***

“Haa, Haaak-!”

Arthur, having desperately fled the training grounds, leaned against the wall of the auditorium, gasping for breath.

The instructors, searching for any remaining students, saw Arthur running towards them empty-handed and immediately rushed to his aid.

After confirming that he was covered in blood and sweat, they immediately called for a Priest to heal him.

“Student Arthur, what happened to you?”

“Haa, Haa- Well, that is…”

Arthur tried to explain what had happened to him.

However, at that moment, his mouth clamped shut.

To explain what had transpired, he would have to break his promise to Kyle.

Furthermore, he’d have to explain why they were targeted, which would ultimately reveal the Dragon’s Heart within him.

Seeing Arthur’s silence, the instructors began to press him for answers.

“Stop it.”

“P-Professor Gawain!”

If it weren’t for Gawain, who arrived with two unconscious students in his grasp, the instructors would have continued their interrogation until they got the answers they sought.

Gawain handed the students to the instructors and spoke.

“Restrain these two.”

“Sir? Why the students…?”

“They’re terrorists. Whether they enrolled as students from the beginning or were recruited later, I don’t know.”

“W-What are you—”

The instructors were bewildered to hear that students of the prestigious Dairus Academy were involved in terrorism, but they followed Gawain’s orders and restrained the students.

Regardless of the truth, they couldn’t question the words of Professor Gawain, the legendary Sir Gawain.

While the instructors secured the captured students, Gawain looked down at Arthur and spoke.

“What happened?”

“……It’s difficult to explain.”

“Was it Kyle?”

“—How?”

Arthur’s startled eyes widened as he stared at Gawain, who simply smiled and nodded.

“I was the first to realize he was a Master. If it weren’t for me, that kid wouldn’t have even gotten into the Academy.”

Recalling Kyle’s written exam scores, Gawain could easily imagine what would have happened if he hadn’t pulled some strings.

He wouldn’t have starved to death, being a Master and all, but he wouldn’t have been accepted into the Academy.

Crouching down to Arthur’s level, Gawain looked at him and said,

“If it’s him, you don’t have to worry. Unless a Master suddenly falls from the sky, he won’t be in any danger.”

“No, well, about that…”

“Hmm, let’s leave that aside—Student Arthur, you should wait over there with the others.”

“Professor…?”

“Do you have more to say?”

“……He fell.”

Gawain tilted his head, looking down at the ground. Fell? What did he mean?

Seeing Gawain’s confusion, Arthur answered directly.

“The, the one Kyle’s fighting… is a Master.”

“……What?”

A Master wasn’t some stray dog’s name. What was this…?

Gawain wore a bewildered expression, but quickly resolved himself and headed in the direction Arthur had indicated.

Although his war injuries prevented him from fighting at his peak, he was still capable of protecting a young sprout.

***

‘Clang!’ ‘Clang!’

As fragments of aura, chipped off from the clashing Aura Blades, danced in the air, Kyle realized that Damian’s swordsmanship was better than he had anticipated.

Aura Blade swordsmanship was different from conventional swordsmanship.

One couldn’t wield an invincible blade, capable of cutting through anything it touched, like an ordinary sword.

Thus, Aura Blade swordsmanship was lighter and more agile than typical longsword techniques.

With no need to put weight behind the strikes, it resembled dance more than swordplay.

Someone unskilled in swordsmanship, even if they could wield an Aura Blade, would likely end up cutting themselves.

“Huff— Huff—!”

Waltzing to the crackling soundtrack of their clashing auras, both realized the fight was nearing its end.

Damian made the first move.

He refined the aura he had been recklessly wasting, focusing it into a single point on his blade.

Kyle, facing him, did the same, concentrating his aura solely on his sword.

The moment the two concentrated Aura Blades collided, an explosion like a tempest erupted, throwing both combatants back.

‘Screech-‘

Kyle slid backward, finally stopping himself by plunging his sword into the ground.

He then looked at Damian, who was kneeling on one knee.

“You alright?”

“—Ugh—!”

Seeing Damian vomiting blood, Kyle thought, ‘figures’.

It was absurd for an Aura Expert to project their aura externally.

If it were a barrier that could be overcome with drugs or fruits, countless swordsmen wouldn’t have died frustrated, unable to surpass it.

Kyle spoke to Damian, who was still struggling to stand.

“Pick up your sword. Damian.”

“Cough, Cough!”

“Pick up your sword, and fight!”

Looking at Kyle’s outburst, Damian slowly rose, picking up his sword.

The torrent of aura he had been wielding was now a mere trickle.

For Damian, who had been drawing on his life force, this meant death was imminent.

“……I envy you. If only I could have been like you—”

Damian looked at Kyle with envy, then mustered his last ounce of strength, igniting his aura once more.

Seeing this, Kyle charged forward with satisfaction.

The aura was weak compared to its initial intensity, but it was still an Aura Blade.

Aura Blade against Aura Blade.

Kyle overpowered the weakened Aura Blade, cleaving through Damian’s upper body.

‘Swoosh—!’

The little blood he had left gushed out like a fountain.

His already depleted life force completely vanished with this injury, and Damian died.

“That was fun.”

Kyle sheathed his chipped sword and turned towards the auditorium.

The dragon that had been soaring had long since disappeared, and the booming sounds that had echoed throughout the territory had ceased.

Everything was over. Act 1 had a happy ending.

‘Which means there are still plenty of guys like him, and plenty stronger than him, out there.’

Shivering slightly at the exciting future he envisioned, Kyle couldn’t stop grinning.

As he walked towards the auditorium, still smiling, he spotted Gawain in the distance, fully armed.

“Kyle! Are you alright!?”

Gawain rushed towards him, fussing as if Kyle were his own son.

After checking him over and confirming he was unharmed, Gawain finally breathed a sigh of relief and asked about his well-being.

“What happened?”

“I just finished fighting a terrorist over there.”

“I heard something about a Master.”

“Ah, well—something like that.”

Looking at Kyle, completely unscathed after fighting a Master-like opponent, Gawain felt an indescribable emotion.

Did others feel this way when they looked at him?

Feeling this sense of inferiority would drive him mad, so Gawain forced a laugh and headed towards the site of the battle with Kyle.

“……Wait, Kyle.”

“Yes, old man?”

“Did you kill him?”

“Of course?”

Kyle’s tone suggested the question was absurd. Gawain’s expression hardened as he stared at Kyle.

Kyle simply shrugged, as if asking what the problem was.

***

“Kyle Meyer, you are under arrest for murder.”

‘Clang’.

Staring at the firmly locked iron gate, I finally realized.

‘Oh, right.’

Killing people is bad.