## Chapter 214 – Confession (4)
How could one describe this situation in a single word?
Perhaps, “nerve-wracking” would do.
“A supernova has appeared in the Department of Swordsmanship…
And now, a duel with the Sistina Holy Knight who just came to study abroad…!!
I have to see this……!! Hey!! Where’s the popcorn?”
“Wow… she’s turned the Department of Swordsmanship upside down…!!”
Wasn’t this development almost theatrical?
Like a scene from a movie, a super rookie suddenly appears, surpassing all the seniors, and then a special agent dispatched from a secret organization blocks her path, shouting, “Not so fast!!”
But even amidst the surrounding commotion, a silence as if no one dared to breathe hung between the two women glaring at each other.
Vivian seemed to be hesitating, trying to figure out a general strategy by observing Roxanne’s posture and movements, but what was Roxanne thinking as she looked at Vivian?
Only the tip of her halberd, brightly illuminating the training grounds, shone sharply, reflecting the brilliant sunlight in accordance with God’s will.
“Aren’t you coming?
Then I’ll come to you.”
A comfortable tone that she didn’t use when she was with Yeriell.
But in her voice, excitement for battle could be felt, like that of a berserker, and Vivian’s hand gripping the sword hilt was filled with force.
No sooner had she finished speaking than Roxanne’s footsteps echoed as she kicked off the ground.
It was too fast to be the movement of a knight heavily armed in armor.
Considering the weapon she was holding, it should be heavier than adding her own weight, yet Roxanne’s movements didn’t lose balance at all, and she was charging straight ahead like a mounted knight.
In that instant, the tip of the halberd, aimed forward, pierced through the air with a sharp whistling sound.
Vivian narrowly avoided the spearhead aimed at her heart, and as if inertia didn’t exist, she immediately twisted her sword in mid-air to evade the halberd’s attack, which was trying to strike her upwards with the axe part.
“Oh… you’re better than I thought……
Most people can’t dodge the second one…”
Well, it was understandable, because after dodging the spear aimed at her heart, who would have thought that the halberd would be swung upwards, ignoring the laws of physics and gravity?
Also, even though she had dodged it, the burning sensation felt on her chest and cheeks meant that she had been grazed by the axe blade.
The chest of Nemea, which was in the form of a school uniform, was torn, and small streams of blood began to flow from her cheeks.
But with only this much injury, the outcome was far from decided.
As Roxanne stepped back to regain her stance, Vivian similarly adjusted her grip on her sword.
‘Tch… she’s a monster……’
To anyone watching, it might look like she was casually wielding chopsticks with one hand, but that halberd, both in terms of its weight and shape, seemed like a weapon of mass destruction.
Just the fact that she could wield such a halberd with almost no inertia meant that Roxanne’s ability was practically proven.
If that woman fought with a sword instead of a halberd, and without full body armor, how much faster could she be?
A sense of crisis surged in Vivian’s mind.
It was the moment she clearly recognized that the enemy before her was a formidable opponent.
“Nemea……”
Since there was always a chance of something unexpected happening, Vivian quietly called out to Nemea.
No, to be precise, she was giving a new command to Nemea, who was in the form of an ‘Academy Uniform’.
Since it was currently just taking the form of clothing, it was reflecting its texture and shape as is, but she could feel the lining, which was gently clinging to her body, firmly holding her in place.
Since long ago, she had never been picky about methods to win.
The judgment that she would do so again this time was making her blood boil.
“To be honest, you’re pretty good.
I need to end this quickly.”
“Thank you for the compliment.”
Vivian, who began to run like the wind, was closely analyzing Roxanne, whose figure, taking a perfect stance with her halberd, was gradually growing larger.
‘The opponent is a spear.
I can’t just close the distance haphazardly.
In the end, I have no choice but to get close somehow.
But even if I close the distance, I might get hit by the axe blade if I’m not careful.’
Just before the spearhead, accurately aimed at her, touched her face, Vivian quickly flicked the spearhead upwards.
But no sooner had the tip been flicked upwards than the halberd, with its axe blade raised, rushed towards her head.
At that very moment, Vivian’s sword, kicking off the ground as if to start a brawl, scraped against the halberd’s shaft, creating a metallic sound.
‘Even the shaft is made of metal…?
She’s a real crazy monster…!!’
But with that, Vivian was able to approach a close distance where neither the halberd’s spearhead nor the axe blade could reach.
In this distance, she was absolutely in an advantageous situation.
Perhaps knowing that fact herself, Roxanne was stepping back, kicking off the tips of her toes.
In the end, a distance was being maintained where it was ambiguous to reach with a sword, but safe from the halberd.
“Wow… how can she have that kind of speed with all that gear……?”
“She’s a Sistina Holy Knight…!!
This must be easy for her…?”
It seemed that the people around were in awe of Roxanne’s speed, as exclamations were bursting out.
Now, with the reverse effect of 오히려 Roxanne being praised, Vivian clicked her tongue and continued to dig into Roxanne’s space.
‘But you can’t run away anymore…!!’
But as long as this was a training ground, there was bound to be an end to it.
If she kept running backwards, she would eventually reach the end, which was the wall.
There, she would have no choice but to be unable to escape, and especially for a spear that needed a wide range of motion, being against the wall was literally a dead end.
In the end, at the very moment when she was only three steps away from the wall.
‘It’s over…!!’
Vivian, who was convinced of her victory, was taking another step forward as if squeezing it out.
Perhaps sensing the presence of the wall behind her, Roxanne’s eyes slightly turned to the side, and at that moment, Vivian’s sword was being thrust forward.
“Haaaat!!”
With such heavy armor, she wouldn’t be seriously injured even if she attacked a little strongly.
And since she was planning to stop in the middle anyway, it would be even more so.
Thinking that a moment’s speed would determine the outcome, Roxanne was planting her foot with three steps left to the wall, in front of Vivian, who was running with all her might.
“Hmph……”
This moment was flowing as if in slow motion.
It was Vivian’s sword being thrust towards Roxanne’s chest, which was covered in armor.
But at that very moment, Vivian’s eyes were shaking at Roxanne’s movement of taking another step back.
‘Behind her is the wall……
She won’t be able to use the spear…!!’
That the Sistina Holy Knight was sealing her own weapon.
Perhaps the secret country wasn’t all that capable, and a sneer was forming on her lips at that very moment.
From Roxanne’s hand, taking another step back, the metal halberd was beginning to bend.
It wasn’t bending like a figurative expression, but physically, its shape was being distorted as if it was being bent.
‘……!!’
Before Vivian could be surprised, the bending halberd was wrapping around Vivian, and its chains were beginning to coil around her neck like tentacles.
In that state, Roxanne was taking one last step back, leaning her foot against the edge of the wall, and leaning forward as if she was about to run forward at any moment.
Only after that could Vivian understand the secret of the bending halberd, and she could realize the identity of the weapon, which was essentially a flail, with the chains hidden inside the dozens of sections of the metal shaft.
If the chains spun around and tightened around her neck, the halberd’s axe blade at the end would eventually reach her, and if that hit her neck…
‘I… at this rate… I’ll die……’
At the moment, her heart, terrified, was pumping vigorously, and Nemea was reflexively starting to operate, embracing her neck.
But could Nemea block the blade of such a high-weight weapon, which was not for cutting like a normal sword, but for crushing with its weight?
Even in this moment of 고민, the chain was rapidly coiling around her neck.
It meant that it was time to make a choice.
Would she leave defeat in her dictionary with fear and disbelief, or would she trust Nemea and die as a winner even if she died?
And there was only one choice that Vivian de Grenot could choose.
As Vivian raised the sword that was being thrust towards Roxanne’s chest, sparks were flying between the armor and the sword.
The tip of her sword, which had come up with sparks flying, was at the very moment it touched Roxanne’s Adam’s apple.
– Clang
Along with a dull sound, Vivian reflexively flinched and closed her eyes as she began to feel something hitting her neck.
“Excellent. I lost.”
In the meantime, the halberd’s axe blade, perfectly fitted into the gap between the chains that had crossed and aligned, was now wrapped around Vivian’s neck.
It showed an illusion as if it was stuck in her neck, but in reality, it was her neck that was wrapped in chains without a single scratch.
And from Roxanne’s neck, who was looking at her with bright eyes as if she was impressed, a stream of blood, slightly cut by the tip of Vivian’s sword, was trickling down.
“I never thought I’d have to use this from the first day.”
Judging from the bloodthirsty smile on Roxanne’s face, it seemed that Vivian had pushed her quite hard, but had Roxanne anticipated even this situation from the beginning?
Three seconds. Just three seconds.
She had taken measures to prevent herself from getting hurt even in that urgent situation.
Roxanne said she had lost, but Vivian couldn’t help but realize that the one who had actually lost was herself, who had chosen to distrust her opponent and go for a mutual destruction, and had actually tried to injure her opponent.
As Roxanne’s wrist, holding the chain, twisted slightly, the axe blade embedded in the chain wrapped around Vivian’s neck was bouncing off her neck, and was once again unwinding in a circle.
And after it was completely unwound, it, which had been a chain flail until just now, became a halberd again, becoming a cane for Roxanne, who was slowly starting to raise her lowered body.
“I learned something.
You were very fast.”
As Vivian, who had taken her sword from Roxanne, who had stood up with the halberd, was returning her sword to its scabbard.
Roxanne was completely standing up and approaching Vivian.
“You flatter me. You were excellent?
A freshman is this good, I need to step up my game!!
Let me introduce myself again, I’m Roxanne Stronova.
What’s your name?”
Vivian flinched at Roxanne’s touch, who stretched out her hand like the tail of a seductive snake and gently stroked her cheek with her fingers.
She realized that the shallow scratch that had been etched on her face where Roxanne had touched had disappeared without a trace, and she began to stare at the azure knight in front of her with surprised eyes.
“‘Vivi’…… ‘Vivi’ is fine.”
A talent that made her think that she was more than great.
An irresistible smile was appearing on the face of Vivian, who had personally experienced ‘Sistina’.
In the end, it seemed that her intentions had been properly conveyed.
Although it was no different from a defeat, she had shown a spectacular bloody battle that the Sistina Holy Knight had ‘acknowledged’.
And she was able to reach out and shake hands with Roxanne, who had extended her hand forward.
The expressions of the students watching the scene were being colored with subtle emotions.
Respect for some, jealousy for others, and a desire to compete for others.
Various complex emotions were surrounding the air around her, but one thing was certain.
“She’s definitely pretty good?
I thought she’d be a pushover.”
“She’s from a commoner background, but she’s unique?
Who did she learn from? Did she self-study?”
“Where’s that sword from?
Branche? Carber?
Why don’t you tell us?”
Now, at this very moment, she was repeating everything she had in the past.
It had been three months since she had disappeared from the academy.
Vivian was finally able to return to the center of the Department of Swordsmanship.
Even though she had received some help, this time it was with her own abilities.
Roxanne, who was turning away from her and returning to her original spot, was sticking her tongue out at Anne, who was still squatting and watching the whole scene.
Anne’s expression, looking at ‘Vivi’ with a half-frozen expression, seemed somehow stiff.
Had she felt something while looking at the freshman?
“Aah~ I lost~
They said it was the best academy in the Groden Kingdom.
It seems that even the people who come as freshmen are unusual?”
“You fought well……
I wouldn’t have been able to do that…”
Roxanne’s eyes were quietly staring into Anne’s eyes at the mumbling coming from Anne’s half-open mouth.
“I took a rough look, and Anne-ssi’s body is made quite well.
Is there a reason why such a swordsman can’t properly show her skills?”
“A reason why I can’t show my skills……?”
“You’re still so droopy, aren’t you?
Isn’t it because you have a lot of worries?
They say that a swordsman’s blade becomes dull the moment emotions are put into it.
Then why don’t you empty your mind first?”
“Empty my mind……?”
How could she do that?
In the first place, what she was holding onto was not something that could be solved by emptying her mind.
But could Anne, who wanted to grab at straws, help but waver at Roxanne’s confident words?
“Just worrying won’t solve that problem.
They say that solving the problem is the best policy…
But that’s not something you can do as you please, is it?”
“That’s… right……”
“Then get up.”
It was only for a moment that she was pulled up by Roxanne’s hand, who was raising her up.
“So there’s something amazing there, isn’t there?
How about experiencing the culture of Sistina?
It’s almost time to go back for a while, so let’s go together… Ah… I’m late…!!
Uwaaa!! I was so distracted by the duel that I’m late!!
Anne-ssi!! Let’s go quickly!!”
Following her, who was suddenly making a fuss and running, Anne had no choice but to run out of the training ground with Roxanne, unable to hide her bewildered heart.
“Aaaah!! Roxanne-ssi!!
Wait a minute!! Where are you going!!”
It was Anne who made eye contact with the blue-haired freshman surrounded by other students on the way out of the training ground.
“It’s amazing that you’re that good with training alone.
I thought you were arrogant at first, but I’ll admit your skills.
Let’s get along, Vivi.”
“It’s nothing?
We have our ‘seniors’ now.
Shall we ask for a lot of guidance? Ufufut…”
Why did she feel an unknown attraction to the freshman ‘Vivi’, whose eyes were twitching slightly as if she had felt something as soon as she made eye contact with her?
Anne’s running, which had briefly turned back to look at the group of students who were already far away, continued until she arrived at the workshop.
