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“Maybe.”

“And the strange path of the hatchet you threw at Aisha… Have you received training under the Sword Circle group?”

“I don’t know.”

My answers could be perceived as insincere, but I telling the truth.

I had no idea either. I didn’t know how the hell I knew these techniques. They simply came naturally and I felt as if I needed to incorporate them.

The jumbled memories in my head showed no sign of unraveling, and my eyebrows slightly furrowed as a pounding headache began to creep up on me.

Regardless of my headache, the look of suspicion in Senior Delphine’s eyes intensified. Her voice turned serious as she asked me a question.

“I’m being serious, Hatchet Lord. Those skills are prohibited from leaking to outsiders. They even require long, arduous training to master… but you’re saying you don’t know?”

Senior Delphine was right. The Holy Kingdom’s taijutsu, as well as the group of swordsmen known as ‘Sword Circle’, were known for being closed off to outsiders. They lived secluded lives, cutting ties with the outside world and dedicating themselves to swordsmanship until they died of old age at Heavenly Sword Mountain.

It was a place where many swordsmen went after being overwhelmed by the world for various reasons. It was rumored that all kinds of talents and skills were developed and passed on, but they were withheld from outsiders unless admitted into the Sword Circle.

Naturally, it was a place I had never visited before. If I had become a member of the Sword Circle, I would have already cut ties with the world and would not have been standing here at this moment.

No matter how I considered Senior Delphine’s reasoning, I couldn’t help but burst into laughter at the sheer absurdity of it.

“Are you sure you’re not the one who’s misunderstanding something?”

“…….So you have no intentions to talk. Alright.”

Senior Delphine’s sword turned to me as a bright golden aura sprouted out, and the intense heat haze obscured the area.

“In that case, I have no choice but to use more coercive means.”

She had shattered Seria’s golden sword with a single strike. Was I capable of beating her?

It was impossible. At least, that’s what I would have said up until a short while ago. However, right now, I was strangely overflowing with mana – Not to mention, the battle intuition that commanded my bodily instincts as necessary.

I took a deep breath and calmly gazed at Senior Delphine and she remained motionless as well.

The deadlock was broken simultaneously. We dashed towards each other at the same time, and soon, the air around me exploded.

It was Senior Delphine. She had accelerated to a terrifying degree with a mere push off the ground and had appeared before me in an instant.

Our swords clashed, and with a bang, my sword was forcefully repelled by a force akin to an unbelievably strong shockwave.

Even with overflowing mana, I only had one arm capable of wielding a sword. As a result, the power behind my sword was overwhelmingly weak compared to Senior Delphine’s. I grit my teeth and quickly leaned my upper body backwards. A scorching heat swept past me almost immediately afterwards.

It felt like molten iron had fallen onto my body. Although it was only a short instant, the scorching heat was so intense it felt as if it would sear through my flesh. It was then that I came to a realization.

From the start, Senior Delphine was not an opponent that I should have clashed swords with. With that kind of heat, my sword would bend and I also had to prepare myself for burns. She was a tricky enemy.

After recovering my stance, I unleashed a counterattack. However, before I even knew it, her sword was once again speeding towards me. It was a blade that stayed faithful to its role as a weapon, solely dedicated to cutting down the opponents in its path.

It drew a sharp trajectory that sought to take a life.

Despite being called a hunting festival, it was prohibited to kill others. However, we were allowed to injure others as long as they were treatable.

Due to the predisposition of Aedalus, the conquering emperor who created the hunting festival, the hunting festival was not limited to monsters but also involved hunting other students.

That was the reason why Senior Delphine and I had already considered the possibility of meeting each other even before entering the forest. While conflicts between students were uncommon during the hunting festival, they had always occurred at some point.

Although hundreds of participants took part in the hunting festival, the forest was vast and it was simply more advantageous to hunt down beasts instead of taking a bigger risk by hunting other participants in the limited time.

Unless, of course, they managed to find people they could guarantee a victory against, like in our current situation.

Fighting near the entrance was prohibited, and I believed we could remain undetected as long as we managed to carefully enter the forest, but unfortunately, Senior Delphine had found us.

And that monstrous senior was truly serious right now – It was as if she intended to kill us instead of merely subduing us. However, not even Senior Delphine would go that far.

She simply overflowed with confidence. She believed that she could stop her sword at any moment without a single sliver of doubt.

That was Delphine Yurdina. On the other hand, I was inclined to find a way to survive even if it meant resorting to cowardly tactics.

Bang!

Our swords clashed again. However, the collision was a bit different from our previous one. Unlike Senior Delphine, who raised her sword before swinging down, I used the flat of my sword to defend against hers.

I pushed back against the force to distance myself, but she stepped forward to close the distance after having grasped my intentions.

Multiple exchanges ensued, but what remained consistent was the fact that I was repeatedly pushed back after my sword bounced off with every swing due to my lacking strength. Senior Delphine scoffed at such a sight.

But I held my breath and observed Senior Delphine.

That was when I felt it – An ambiguous sensation that felt so close, yet so far.

My memories became jumbled as threads of unfamiliar memories unraveled.

In a hazy landscape, a woman spoke with an emotionless voice.

“Movement Within Stillness.”

“……What?”

A voice asked back incredulously. Even so, the woman, without any signs of mockery, continued to advisegive advice as if she was imparting simple truths.

“Simply put, it is a state in which movement and non-movement become one. It is the most important aspect of the teachings within the Sword Circle.”

“How is something like that possible?”

“Why wouldn’t it be? All movement comes from stillness.”

The woman’s melancholic eyes and weary countenance evoked a deep sense of pity. The man raised his sword in silence.

“Look around you carefully. Observe the things you thought weren’t moving and the things that you think are moving.”

The landscape split apart following the path of his sword.

“You can only enter the first stage of ‘Movement Within Stillness’ after you cannot distinguish the still from the moving.”

It was only when the lingering resonance of her voice finally dissipated that I snapped back to reality. Senior Delphine’s attacks were getting fiercer and faster.

Clang!

My sword bounced off once again. My arm muscles, pushed to their limits, ached with soreness. I bit my lip and forced my arms to hold a little longer.

I had no choice but to step back and Senior Delphine’s sword pierced through that gap. She wore a smile akin to a predator looking at her prey.

“Seems like you can still manage to be distracted, Hatchet Lord?”

“Then-”

Senior Delphine muttered under her breath before her body surged forward.

It was a sudden burst of speed which indicated that she hadn’t been going all-out so far. Her sword drooped slightly.

It was a familiar stance I had seen before.

Seria’s attack flashed in my mind. It was the secret swordsmanship of the Yurdina family that she had shown twice today.

As soon as the thought crossed my mind, I immediately threw myself backwards. This was no time for pride. The evidence that I had made the right judgment soon surfaced.

Five golden lines traced through the air simultaneously.

It was as if a lion’s claws had scratched through the air, and the world was dripping golden blood from the wound. Facing the terrifying aura, I couldn’t distinguish which was illusory and which was the real strike.

I rolled on the ground and gasped for breath.

It was the ‘Illusory Sword of the Golden Lion’. I, who could barely defend against Senior Delphine’s regular strikes, lacked the skills to defend against the illusory sword.

‘What should I do?’

I couldn’t end the fight without closing the distance between us. My defeat was only a matter of time if I was continuously pushed back like this, and my stamina was already at its lowest

A shiver crawled down my spine. If I approached her without a solid plan, it was obvious I would fall under that terrifying swordsmanship that blurred the line between reality and illusion.

I gasped for breath and desperately racked my brain, trying to recall any memories that could provide a solution.

Come to think of it, the beast reacted to Seria’s illusory sword.

Right, it dodged the attack.

No matter how great someone’s swordsmanship was, it was fine as long as I stayed outside of their path. A counterattack would even become possible if I could narrowly evade the attack.

However, five golden lines were drawn simultaneously. It was an unavoidable strike that revealed the true terror of the Yurdina’s technique they were so proud of.

I thought of giving up, but at that moment, certain memories flashed through my mind. The story that Thean told me, things that Leto told me.

‘Space,’ ‘refraction,’ and ‘topology’.

All sorts of shapes and coordinates floated in my mind. They twisted, bent, and yet, formed a unity.

I didn’t have time to think long. I grit my teeth and rolled on the ground once more as the golden aura struck the ground I had stood on moments ago.

The earth burned in her golden aura, and I staggered up on my feet while witnessing that absurd scenery.

“I’m disappointed, Hatchet Lord. Are you only trying to buy yourself some time?”

Senior Delphine, having regained her composure, gave a leisurely smirk. Meanwhile, I was exhausted beyond belief.

Instead of responding, I threw the dagger I kept concealed near my chest.

It was the dagger that she had given to me. Unfazed by my sudden attack, she effortlessly parried the dagger, causing it to twirl through the air.

I rushed forward hoping to seize the opening when she parried the dagger, but despite the momentary opening, her overwhelming physical specs allowed her to forcibly guard the small opening.

She responded naturally while lowering her stance.

The demonic beast had been able to contort its body to dodge the attack, but I was only human and couldn’t twist and transform my body like the beast.

If so, there was only one thing I could do.

I had to contort something else to fit my needs.

I recalled a distant memory. It was the one about movement and stillness.

Time gradually slowed down as I went through what seemed like successive accelerations. And in that fleeting moment, right as Senior Delphine’s sword was about to draw golden lines, time stood still.

The sensation that seemed impossible to grasp started to resurface, and I was able to finally understand.

Time and space. Diagrams. My perspective changed as time became fragmented

The woman’s words were right. What I believed to be still, was in fact, moving.

Space extended like a line before becoming a dot and returning to the void.

I forcefully pulled the line in the air just like I would trace a complex diagram from a topology workbook.

It was a strange feeling. The five golden lines twisted and collapsed, and seizing the moment, I swiftly dove into the opening, barely brushing past it.

The first things I noticed were Senior Delphine’s eyes filled with shock. Then, I swung my sword towards her.

However, she wasn’t such an easy opponent. In that brief moment, she unleashed her mana explosively and withdrew her sword. Then, with a swift motion, she slashed upwards.

My sword flew through the sky with a bang as my already exhausted muscles couldn’t withstand the sudden impact.

My stance collapsed and the decisive moment of the battle drew near.

I called out the name of the comrade whom I believed in. I believed that they would shortly return to battle.

“Seria!”

Senior Delphine’s eyes quickly darted behind her. Seria, who had been running towards me since the moment I distracted Senior Delphine with the dagger, was already standing close.

And, in the air were three azure scratches reminiscent of a lion’s claw.

The time that had previously stopped started to flow, and all the aura blades that Seria drew in the air were once again smashed with a single slash.

Like before, Seria was once again sent flying with a scream.

But if there was anything different this time around, it was that Senior Delphine would pay the price as well.

My hand reached towards my waist and just as I was about to draw my hatchet, Senior Delphine’s eyes met my own.

And at that moment, I knew.

That it was too late.

Even though I had distracted her with a dagger, manipulated space to create an opening, and had Seria ambush her from behind, I would still be too slow in drawing my hatchet.

Such was the skill of the first-ranked elite among the top students in the academy. Her skill was on par with that of a professor, a level befitting their reputation.

If I couldn’t pull out my hatchet in time, there was only one thing I could do.

It was to use a weapon that was already drawn. The dagger that was spinning through the air suddenly plunged down.

Caught off guard by the dagger she had previously deflected, she took a step backwards. And seizing the opportunity, I dashed towards her. Considering how my hand was fumbling around my waist, there was but a single way for me to make it on time.

I caught the falling dagger with my mouth, and with the last bit of strength in my body, jumped right onto her.

That was the end.

The blade was pressed against her neck so that it would easily dig into her if I applied even a little force. We were close enough for our breaths to intertwine and our bodily odor to pierce each other’s noses.

Senior Delphine’s body stiffened. Her blood-red eyes were dazed and filled with the face of a man gasping for air.

It was my victory. The dagger had already sunk in too deep for Senior Delphine to wield her sword. If she moved her chin even the slightest bit, she was sure to be toeing the line between life and death.

I asked.

“Rezulgth? (Result?)”

A rather comical situation unfolded due to my muffled voice, but it was inevitable with the dagger in my mouth. Nonetheless, a faint smile sprouted on my face.

Drip.

A drop of sweat ran down my forehead and dripped off my chin.

For a long while, Senior Delphine stayed silent while a mixture of emotions flashed through her eyes.

Disbelief, humiliation, anger, denial, and acceptance.

Finally, a sweet sigh escaped her mouth as she then declared her defeat with difficulty.

“…….It’s… my loss.”

And with that, she threw her sword onto the ground. It was a sign of surrender. She then chuckled in disbelief, as if she couldn’t believe what had just happened.

“To think my first loss is to some trivial no-name… I can’t believe it.”

She shook her head. Then, as if implying that saying any more would only worsen her situation, she crossed her arms and spoke.

Her demeanor, proud and confident as always.

“I swear on the honor of the Yurdina family. I’ll leave quietly. Hmph, congrats on your vic… Kyaaaaaaaa?!”

But before she could even finish her sentence, a silver flash pierced through Senior Delphine’s shoulders.

My hand held a hatchet as the sound of cartilage shattering rang out. The hatchet was lodged in her shoulder.

Blood burst forth from her shoulder, and her face was filled with sheer disbelief as a shrill scream filled the area.

She collapsed onto the floor while clutching her shoulders, overwhelmed by the sudden pain. Then, she looked up at me with eyes mixed with confusion and fear.

I spat out the dagger from my mouth and spoke to her indifferently.

“Why are you trying to declare the end on your own? We’re only getting started.”

With that, I decided to borrow Senior Delphine’s words.

“What was it again… ‘Survival of the fittest’?”

For the first time, a foreign emotion was clearly reflected in her blood-red eyes.

Her pupils quivered in fear.