Chapter 153 – Semifinals (5)
Bang! Bang! Quaang! A series of deafening noises. Sword strikes come and go so fast that even the cadets of the academy cannot easily see them.
“And. Crazy.”
“Hey. Can you see me?”
“It’s a bit blurry, but…”
There were cadets who could roughly grasp the situation by only seeing the afterimages of the aura, and among them, only the cadets from the combat department, excluding the magic department, with excellent practical skills, were barely following along, albeit vaguely.
“No matter how you look at it… Right?”
“Uh.”
“Crazy, really. Isn’t the princess the same age as us?”
“I’m two years younger than you.”
The cadet who had the conversation shook his head. Even though the mere fact that he is attending the academy means that the student also has excellent talent, he is humbled by his own ‘real talent’ in front of his eyes.
At the age of twenty, he becomes an Aura Master.
Even in the imperial family, which steadily nurtured masters in each generation, and in the northern grand duchy, which passed down the title of swordsman from generation to generation, such a case was not uncommon.
It is already well known that even the Grand Duke of the North, the Grand Master of Yui on the continent, did not become an Aura Master until he was 40 years old.
If so, Iris would have reached the same level as the Northern Duke in half the time it took to reach the level of Master.
‘It’s as talented as our young tower lord…’
A wizard of the Mage Tower who clicks his tongue. The wizard’s eyes followed Iris as he remembered the small tower owner who was watching the Duke of Chepes fight on the other side.
A talent unprecedented in the history of the Mage Tower.
Mana sensitivity and dominance comparable to that of the Arch Mage former Mage Master. Looking at them, I thought that there would never be a day when I would see more talent than this.
‘Furthermore.’
The wizard’s eyes turned to Anna.
“Even a princess is not easy.”
“I know. I thought it was time to end.”
The crowd was buzzing. There is a gap that can never be crossed between the Master and those who have not crossed that wall.
That’s why, when he found out that Iris had reached the level of a master.
It’s unfortunate, but everyone expected Anna’s crushing defeat.
But.
“… Are you growing?”
Muttered the wizard.
Just like that. Not from the combat department, even if you look at the fierce battle between the two and lack an intuitive understanding, you can see it in the eyes of the wizard instead.
Even at this moment, Anna’s pure and dense magical power, wriggling and gradually increasing in size.
‘… There must have been another monster.’
Has there ever been another generation so brilliant?
The wizard laughed bitterly.
*
Big play! Along with the sound of blades colliding and scratching, the air screamed at the impact of the waves of aura.
Anna’s body moves gracefully. She finds the best sword path and inserts the sword.
Caang!
Iris indifferently cut off the sword aiming at her gap. As if flowing water, she naturally digs into the path where Anna’s sword had entered until just now, and stabs it as if to counterattack.
“Huh!”
Anna was not easily defeated either. Spin her body
Kroychev Ryu
Shadow slash
Blurred Shinyoung. I managed to miss Iris’s sword, which came with terrifying precision, and dug deep once again.
The shape of the aura that had risen softly was compressed to a blue color above the blade. Instead of reducing the range and speeding up the consumption of the aura, its destructive power was maximized.
Fire!
Iris’s sword shone. Matching the density of Anna’s compressed aura, Iris’ golden aura also added its color.
The difference with Anna is that while she added several conditions to increase the density of her aura, Iris’ aura did not decrease in size.
Cooong!
Swords clash again. Auras of exactly the same density faced each other tightly without being pushed back.
“… Big!”
Anna gritted her teeth. Iris gently bites the sword. Anna, too, instead of being swept away by it, straightened her posture.
Tung. Iris lightly stepped back. Anna was not conceited. If she was Iris who had become a master, she would surely have been able to counterattack easily, but why did she back away from her instead of doing that?
“Whoa, whoa…”
Breathing heavily, Anna straightened her sword. She wiped the sweat with her hand and glared at the princess, who showed no sign of fatigue.
‘… So what are you asking me to do?’
Actually, Iris was grumbling at the goddess who kept talking inside her and disturbing her.
Even in situations where she could have easily repelled her, she couldn’t concentrate easily because of the goddess confusing her mind.
Of course, if she put her mind to it, even in the midst of chaos, she could finish her plate in an instant.
Because Master is such a being.
But.
‘It’s so awkward to lose now. … But winning here is also a bit bad.’
As I said, Iris had no intention of defeating Anna. If she had thought of that in the first place, she would have developed the realm of the sword as soon as she started.
Maybe it’s because he’s naturally kind, should he lose? She even thought of doing it.
She’s like the goddess said, and somehow she thinks she’s a bad person.
But. Anyway it is She couldn’t easily lose to a woman who could be said to be her rival, but everything.
“Iris…」
‘Please be quiet.’
Even a goddess with an attitude as if she were watching a love affair with an interesting subject matter.
It’s a disrespectful word, but to be honest, it’s a bit of a nuisance.
That’s how it dragged on for quite some time.
Anyone in the room could already tell how big the gap was between Anna and Iris.
In such a situation, even if Iris loses with poor acting, who can accept it?
Even her party, Anna, would not be able to easily admit it.
“Okay.”
Even the goddess admits that, she carefully shuts her mouth and becomes silent.
‘Even if you want to lose, you have to have an opportunity to do so…’
The gap between Anna and Iris was so great that it was so natural that the expression ‘lose’ was so great, Iris who thought so had no hesitation.
She’s just worried about what to do with her.
‘Can’t I just win?’
It wasn’t me who decided to meet in the finals, but that woman’s circumstances?
Even if you think the same.
‘No. I don’t know how I would feel if I hadn’t had the same relationship with my brother.’
Anyway, it’s a similar situation… I felt sorry for him and thought that maybe I should just give up.
‘Head hurts… ! So, why did he make such a promise… !’
He’s like a bad guy who only knows how to flirt with women and doesn’t know how to clean things up.
I’m just getting so annoyed with myself.
“Whoa.”
Even though Iris was thinking about something else, Anna didn’t let go of her attention. Although it was humiliating that he wasn’t paying attention to her, she thought she deserved it too.
Because there was such a difference. Even if she doesn’t want to admit it, she has no choice but to admit it at this level.
It’s okay though.
Even if you are weaker right now, you can overtake him someday.
She was confident
Therefore.
Right now, somehow hold on, hold on, draw out the opponent’s guard…
“… Uh?”
In an instant, Anna let out a muffled voice.
Iris frowned, and that woman suddenly turned into a questioning face. Anna doesn’t even notice that.
“… Scarlett?”
He spit out a name that was very familiar to Iris as well.
“… Even if you try to trick me like that—”
For a moment, Anna wondered if she was making fun of herself. Iris, who frowned at her displeasure, shut her mouth.
Even if you can’t hear footsteps.
Even if you can’t hear your voice.
She had already reached her peak. There was no way she couldn’t feel it.
She didn’t come here He’s probably just looking at this place with his clairvoyance from afar.
An overwhelming force that can be felt even without seeing it.
A gigantic presence that can only be felt by those who have reached the level of a master, distorting the flow of the world.
Who can believe that it is in a weakened state with lost memory.
“Now! Iris!”
‘Yes yes? Ah. To win by approaching the careless…’
“No. It means that you lose because you are careless! Then wouldn’t Scarlett pay more attention to you?”
‘Ah.’
Therefore. That was the gist of what the goddess was saying. By showing how she loses to Anna, she wants Scarlett to like her.
‘Would my brother like it?’
“What kind of man would you hate? At least you won’t lose anything.”
No damage
She honestly didn’t think it was that bad. First of all, if Anna’s plan goes as planned, she will have one more rival that Iris can’t ignore.
If Scarlett likes it, there’s nothing I can’t do with her eyes closed…
If he gets angry, saying, “You lost on purpose in a sacred battle!” .
“There is a way, Iris.”
‘What is it?’
“A man can pretend he doesn’t like a little favor, but he’s bound to ignore the mouth-watering favor he can’t dare refuse. Even if you cling close to him and say ‘Orabeonie~♡’ and act cute, it will work out.”
‘No.’
Iris felt dizzy for a moment. No matter how much she became friends with her, she and her goddess are now almost like one family, but she is the goddess of the sun, who can be said to be the main god of the continent. .
Therefore.
Speaking vulgarly…
But even so, she couldn’t bear to be curious, so Iris asked quietly.
‘… What should I do?’
“Listen carefully. If you do it well, you won’t get angry and you’ll be able to enjoy yourself all night long.”
Overnight?
Iris was captivated by that devilish word.
Whisper.
Whisper.
Iris, who listened to her goddess’ explanation until the end, ended up grinning as she recalled her happy future.
“Do you want to wipe your saliva?”
‘… Sup.’
I don’t know the circumstances, but seeing Iris bruised for a long time, Anna grabbed her sword. Although she was faint, she could feel Scarlett’s presence, and although she herself hesitated too, her iris was severe.
She thought for a moment that she was acting to deceive herself.
No matter how great the difference in realization was, she could tell whether it was acting or not. She used to read that apparently she had no intention of fighting back.
Take a leap
Then Iris stabbed Anna’s sword through her gap.
“… !”
Taang!
She came in so much stronger than she thought, and she was almost dangerous if she didn’t hit it right.
‘What, what is it?’
“You’ve just grown up.”
‘How hard did I become a master! I almost died from a dragon!’
“Usually, you don’t cross the wall there, you die.”
Anyway.
Although it was Iris who burst into anger at Anna’s rapid growth to the point where she felt threatened at the moment. She was more preoccupied with the plans she concocted with her goddess than with her immediate victory or defeat.
“… ?”
In the end, Iris, who played the image of losing by a narrow margin due to her carelessness, went down to her face with regret.
Bewildered Anna, who made her face not sure how she won, ended up in the finals.
