The Sword Demon Tears People Apart

When he returned to his quarters after finishing training at the practice ground, Luna was waiting.

“You’ve returned.”
“Oh, is something up?”
“I told you before, but I’m sure you forgot, so I came to tell you again.”
“Huh?”
Zeron tilted his head.
Was there something she had said?
“The first-year students’ field training starts in two days. The location is Rempit, not far from the capital. It will last about a week.”
“Ah, right. I think I heard something like that. They move by class, right?”
“Yes. The homeroom teacher of each class is in charge.”
“Oh, thank you.”
“Then, I’ll be going.”
As Luna bowed, Zeron nodded and headed to his room.
It would be good to at least inform David about going outside the Academy.
After all, that’s why he was specifically put into the Academy as an instructor.

-Rempit? Alright, got it. I hadn’t heard anything from Medea.
“I don’t know either. Maybe they’re planning to tell the students later.”

-Well, okay. Thanks for now. I’ll send some people to keep an eye on things.
“Is that necessary?”

-You never know.
“Do as you like then.”
After finishing the brief call, Zeron was lost in thought for a moment.
Field training, huh…
Well, let’s assume the training itself goes well for now.
As for the people coming from the Matein Viscount family… let’s tell them to wait a bit.
They should be fine on their own for a day or two.
“Ah, I don’t know.”
Zeron jumped into bed.
He had a drink, thought he should probably wash up so he did, and then as he was thinking about going to sleep soon, he closed his eyes.
There were classes tomorrow.

“Oh, you’re here.”
“That insolent attitude is still the same!”
The class started with Miss Sass’s nagging.

Zeron glanced at the kid’s expression.
Somehow her complexion looked haggard, and she seemed lost in thought even now, which was quite concerning.
Come on, have some faith in people.
“Kid, want to rest? You can sit over there if you want.”
When he pointed to the folding chair, the kid glared at him and shook her head.
“I’m fine… Just go on.”
“…Alright.”
Zeron casually drew his sword.
Then he stood in front of the scarecrow and pondered for a moment.
Well, if I just show them something, they might get some sense of it, right?
“Watch for now. I’ll show you something.”
He held the sword in an upper stance and stood in front of the scarecrow.
What came to mind was his dream self.
Beyond his usual skills, towards that realm beyond.
Kwahak-!
The sword swung.
Its speed wasn’t fast.
If it were, the students wouldn’t be able to see anything.
Thud-, the upper body of the scarecrow fell, and then
Crack- the area around the cut was horribly crushed.
“Did you see?”
“What did we see? Didn’t it just crumble because you couldn’t cut it cleanly?”
“Yeah, shut up, amateur. Hey, what was it, Ed? Did you understand?”
When Zeron asked, the gloomy kid nodded.
Wait, he really understood?
That’s even more surprising.
“Wasn’t it that the instructor’s mana crushed the area around the cut? Without deliberately emitting something like sword aura, just with the mana naturally imbued in the sword.”
“Close. The point is, I didn’t specifically try to crush the scarecrow. This is just the nature of my mana.”

Going further from here leads to the realm of will.
But since even Zeron can’t handle that properly yet, we’ll skip it.
“Everyone’s mana has different properties, so figuring that out… well, that’s going too far. Just know that such things exist and pay a bit more attention usually. Like your sword being sharper than expected, or lighter, or the cut area getting hot. You know, things like that.”
“Can’t you look and tell us?”
Miss Sass asked.
“I can.”
“Then why don’t you just do that?”
“That would be troublesome for me.”
“…Aren’t you an instructor?”
“This kind of thing is better to realize on your own, idiot. If someone else tells you, you might miss out on an insight that comes with figuring it out yourself.”
“Hmm…”
Seeming somewhat convinced, Miss Sass nodded.
It wasn’t an excuse, it was half sincere after all.
“So now you understand? Let’s do 1000 horizontal cuts.”
At that, Miss Sass grumbled.
Can’t she just do it when told?
Sometimes it seems like she enjoys fighting with me too.
“No, couldn’t you just give that as homework? You. Honestly, you’re just too lazy to teach, right?”
“You know well.”
“You delinquent instructor…!”
“Ah, but I’m watching your form. That should be enough. This kind of opportunity isn’t common, you know?”
A Master is watching their form, you know.
If others knew, they’d try their best to get this chance even if it cost them a fortune.
Probably.
Zeron, who had been frowning, suddenly had a good idea.
The students had started horizontal cuts without much comment.
Pretending to watch their form, he said to Miss Sass:
“Hey hey, that’s not it. Keep your arm close to your dantian, no no, a bit more. That’s it. Bend your waist more.”
“…Is this right? It doesn’t feel right…”
“Hey, are you better with a sword, or am I? Hm?”
“…You are. For now.”
“Anyway, just bend your waist a bit more.”
“Like this…?”

Miss Sass held her sword in front of her lower abdomen and bent her waist.
Zeron tried hard to suppress the twitching corners of his mouth as he continued:
“Yeah, bring your legs closer together.”
“This stance seems too unbalanced for fighting…”
“Hey, are you better with a sword than me?”
“Eek…!”
Only then did Miss Sass bring her legs together politely.
Seeing that, Zeron nodded with a satisfied smile.
“That’s right, you bow very~ well.”
“Huh…?”
Miss Sass stared blankly, dumbfounded.
Did she finally realize she was being teased?
Her face turned bright red.
“You really…!”
“You fell for it. Are you stupid?”
“Grrrr…! I can’t take it anymore! You! Are you really that good with a sword!?”
“Of course. Naturally.”
He nodded confidently.
In my life, I’ve never seen anyone better with a sword than me.
There were some before, but they’ve all been behind me for a long time now.

“Fine then! You know what you always emphasize? The basics!”
“Ah, that? Dodge, block, get hit where it hurts less, and hit well?”
“Yes…! That! You only get to attack once! At a level adjusted to mine!”
“Wow, how unfair. Do you want to win that badly?”
“No…! Isn’t it natural since there’s at least twice the age difference between us!?”
Since she was nagging so much, he said okay, that’s enough.
I’ll win anyway.
“Alright then. Come at me.”
“Hah…!”
“Wow, this brat. I haven’t even drawn my sword yet.”
Zeron clicked his tongue and tilted his head back.
Whoosh-! The practice sword passed by with a fierce aura.
Though it’s called a practice sword, it’s still a steel sword with just the edge dulled.
If a normal person got hit by that, their head would burst open.
“How barbaric.”
“Just shut up…!”
Vertical cut.
He dodged diagonally, and whoosh-! bent his waist to avoid the following horizontal cut.
Miss Sass spun around once using the force of her swing, then thrust her sword like an arrow.
“Slow.”
Of course, he dodged by slightly twisting his body.
“Eek…! Stop dodging like a rat and take a hit!”
“Hey, didn’t you say I shouldn’t attack?”
“I said you could do it once!”
Miss Sass charged, gritting her teeth.
Another vertical cut.
Zeron rotated with his left foot as the axis.
Whoosh-! The practice sword cut through the air with a fierce sound.
And then,
“I won, right?”
Zeron smirked.
Somehow, the sword he held in reverse grip was touching Miss Sass’s chin.
“…Didn’t you cheat?”
“How so?”
“We agreed to match your physical abilities to my level.”
“I did match them, you wench.”
“I didn’t even see you draw from the scabbard.”
“I drew it without you seeing, idiot.”

As Zeron sneered, Miss Sass grabbed the back of her neck.
“Stop adding those words at the end of every sentence, you ruffian…!”
*
Today’s class ended after playing around with Miss Sass as usual.
However, what was a bit concerning was the kid’s condition.
She had been sighing deeply all day in a gloomy state.
“Hey, kid. Come with me for a bit.”
“…What now. I have to go to class.”
“It’s break time, isn’t it?”
He took her hand and led her to an alley.
The kid looked around and narrowed her eyes.
“What are you up to now.”
“This brat.”
Stretch-, he grabbed the kid’s cheek.
It’s still an insane sensation.
Without exaggeration, it’s better than the chest of that voluptuous blonde woman he spent a night with on the way back to the Academy.
Her breasts were quite big too.
“Wha’ are you doin’?”
But the kid’s reaction was different from usual.
She just stared blankly at Zeron.
At this point, it was almost like a major depression, a serious condition.
“I’ll show you something amazing.”
“I’m not in the mood.”
“I don’t show this to just anyone, you know? I’m showing you because it’s you.”
At those words, the kid glanced at him, then turned around abruptly.
No, then she sighed deeply and just turned her head to look.
“What is it. It better not be nothing special.”
Despite being deeply upset and seemingly worried about a mountain of things, she’s unexpectedly kind.
Seeing that image of someone else in her, Zeron drew his sword.
“Now, watch.”
*
Medea just turned her head blankly to look at Zeron.
She really felt like she was going to go crazy from frustration.
Did he know what he had done?
To a certain extent it might be okay, but to lay hands on a noble’s body.
If they weren’t careful, they could literally lose their heads.
Physically.
Even she, who wasn’t very familiar with outside affairs, knew this fact.
And he wasn’t someone who wouldn’t know this.
What on earth was he thinking?
No, could it be that he really doesn’t know?
Was he really an idiot, blinded by love or something?
Medea pouted her lips.
She felt like grabbing that muscle head and stretching him out.
But she barely held back with her vast patience.
Still, it’s Zeron oppa. I’ll let it slide just this once. That’s what she thought.
“Now, watch.”
Uncle Zeron held out his sword.
‘What is he going to show now.’
It better not be nothing special.
I’ll really stretch his mouth like a duck’s bill if it is.
That’s when it happened.
Hwaaak-!
A red current surged from Zeron’s sword.
Medea’s heart sank for a moment.
Even though she knew he wouldn’t do it, for a brief moment, she felt a chill on her neck.
“…What is this. Sword aura? Impressive. But so what…”
The sword aura converged.
The currents gathered to form a shape, and within the red, a brilliant star rose.
Sword Aura Becomes a Star
The miracle of sword aura containing a star.
The proof of a Master, and the certification as a swordsman.
“Sword… star…?”
The red energy formed a clear shape and settled on the sword.
A vicious shape like jagged saw teeth.
It was as if a red malevolent star had descended to earth.
The faint pressure made it hard to breathe.
It felt like the skin all over her body would be cut and bleed at any moment.
She couldn’t look down on the face of the uncle grinning in front of her.
This feeling like her neck could be cut at any moment.
No, this feeling like her neck could be bitten off at any moment.
A beast. A monster. Something huge and ferocious.
A monster that would snap a thin neck in an instant with its fierce glaring eyes.
I’m going to die.
Her legs trembled.
Just as she was about to fall on her backside from her strength giving out,
Hwook-
As the sword star disappeared, the pressure vanished with it.
The uncle chuckled annoyingly.
“How about it, do you find me more reliable now?”
What a ridiculous thing to say…
A Master. The only one in the kingdom.
No, now one of only two at the pinnacle of swordsmanship.
A superhuman who could look down on everyone except the Grand Master of the Empire.
Medea could only gape in astonishment.