TN: Thank Llama for the chapter.
TL/PR: Ruminas; ED: novicelily
Ariel climbed the mountainside behind the academy once again today. This time, he wasn’t with Iria.
The sharp clashing of swords echoed through the air. These weren’t ordinary sword strikes; they belonged to those who had surpassed a certain threshold. Each swing tore through the wind, cutting through the earth beneath them.
The terrain bore the brunt of their exchange. When superhumans crossed swords, their surroundings didn’t remain unscathed.
Trees fell one by one, sliced cleanly, while dense starlight spilled across the ground.
Ariel exhaled roughly after the latest clash. He had expected this intensity, but even so, there was no holding back.
His opponent, Freya, was pushing him harder than ever. Her movements were sharper, more refined,
Was this her full power? Even Ariel, who had sparred countless times with the Sword Saint, had never seen her like this.
He was being pushed back, albeit slightly. But the fact that the Empire’s greatest swordsman was taking him seriously meant one thing: Ariel had reached a level where he was truly being acknowledged.
Today, for the first time, he was acknowledged by his master.
Ariel wrapped dense starlight around his blade, swinging it with a technique Freya had taught him.
It was a strike far too powerful to use against any ordinary human. But he trusted his master and believed fully in her ability to withstand it.
He swung a single, wide arc, and his sword crashed into Freya’s with heavy force. For a brief moment, Freya twisted her blade to deflect the strike.
However, it wasn’t enough to fully divert the flood of starlight. A faint line appeared on her pale cheek, the only mark left by the onslaught.
Freya touched the cut absently, her fingers brushing the blood that now stained her skin.
“We’ll stop here for today,” she said, sheathing her sword.
As soon as those words ended, Ariel collapsed on the spot. He had used every last drop of strength in that final blow.
Normally, Freya would have left immediately after sparring. But today was different.
She remained, resting on a tree stump that had been felled in their battle.
“Your mind seemed to wander. Did something happen?”
Freya’s gaze flicked toward Ariel as she brushed her sweat-soaked hair back from her face.
Ariel paused at her question, lost in thought.
He recalled what had happened recently, how he had unintentionally hurt Iria.
Having red eyes didn’t necessarily mean someone wasn’t human. It could be the result of a unique constitution or a rare illness.
His reaction had been driven by panic, spurred by the whispers of the stars. He regretted it.
But was this really something to share with his master right now?
Ariel’s expression shifted as he shook his head. “No, it’s nothing.”
“That’s good then.”
Freya’s response was formal, but she looked at him with genuine surprise, her usual sternness momentarily replaced by curiosity.
The growth of the boy who had once struggled to parry even one of her strikes was astonishing. Could someone grow this much in so little time?
It was hard to believe he was the same person.
“You’ve become strong. More than I expected.”
“Still not enough to match you, though.”
“No,” Freya replied. “I’m surprised. I didn’t expect such progress.”
Now, she understood what Sertia had meant about having high hopes for this generation.
Freya was acknowledging Ariel as a superhuman.
“I suppose the recent incident was the catalyst. I’m just sorry I couldn’t step in,” she added.
“It couldn’t be helped,” Ariel replied.
On the day the academy was attacked by monsters, Freya had received the news too late. She had headed for the academy immediately, but a thick barrier had prevented her from entering.
It had taken too long to break through the multi-layered defenses. By the time Freya had created a hole in the barrier and entered, the battle was nearly over.
In the end, Freya led the reinforcements to mop up the remaining monsters and end the chaos.
Even so, Freya seemed to carry some guilt despite having taken the best possible actions. Her sense of responsibility was unwavering.
Ariel shook his head as if to reassure her. “No one could have prevented it. It wasn’t your fault.”
“……”
Freya remained silent.
She was always a woman of few words, but this silence felt deeper. She was undoubtedly blaming herself for her perceived failure to act that day.
Sensing the heavy atmosphere, Ariel tried to shift the conversation.
“By the way,” he said, “may I ask how you got that scar on your face? I don’t remember seeing it before.”
He had known Freya since childhood but had only recently reunited with her.
When they met again after Ariel became a second-year student, she looked different.
There were scars he hadn’t seen before.
Could a being in the Empire be capable of doing that to humanity’s strongest swordsman?
That’s why Ariel asks.
“Who made those wounds?”
“……”
Freya doesn’t respond immediately. She gazes up at the sky, lost in the memories of the past.
And then.
“Have you ever heard of the name ‘Back Alley Monster’?”
“Yes.”
“The story of the Back Alley Monster is not just a rumor. It probably exists somewhere in the Empire, even now.”
Whenever the scar on her face ached, Freya would remember that day. The vivid memories of a battle she could never forget.
But strangely, she couldn’t recall the monster’s appearance. The fight itself was seared into her mind, yet the details of its physical form eluded her.
Her memory had been tampered with.
“It was the most bizarre being I’ve ever encountered. Despite its overwhelming power, its movements were clumsy, almost amateurish, like it was fighting for the first time.”
“……”
“As you know, Ariel, having great power doesn’t automatically make someone strong. That’s why, in the beginning, I was able to dominate the battle.”
Freya continued.
The creature had incredible regenerative abilities but nothing else, or so she thought. It seemed incapable of regenerating endlessly, and Freya was confident she could subdue it.
But then.
“I couldn’t subdue the Back Alley Monster.”
“Why… is that?”
“As the fight went on, the monster’s strength grew exponentially. It was like watching someone with immense talent in combat learning on the fly.”
The more strikes it took, the more precise its movements became. It was as if it was intuitively learning how to fight, improving with every blow.
This wasn’t just talent. It was terrifying. The speed at which it learned and adapted was unnatural, monstrous.
What had started as a one-sided fight gradually shifted. First, the battle became even. Then, it tilted in the monster’s favor.
By the end, it mimicked Freya’s sword strikes with eerie precision.
It saw.
It learned.
It imitated.
Like a living, breathing combat machine.
“Be cautious of the Back Alley Monster,” Freya warned.
“If you truly plan to subdue all the Seeds of the Demon King, you will eventually face it.”
It had been over a year since that monster, which grew stronger with time, had been left unchecked.
Freya seemed uneasy, wondering how much more powerful it had become.
“Remember this. The opponent you need to surpass isn’t just me.”
Today, Freya acknowledged Ariel’s strength. But now, the goal Ariel, humanity’s hope, should strive for lay beyond Freya herself.
The Sword Saint had left advice for the next hero. Advice that might be her last.
After all, once Ariel surpassed her, there would be no more guidance she could offer as his superior.
***
The academy lay in ruins, but reconstruction was underway.
Some subjects had resumed classes, and students who had completed their treatments were attending, regardless of their year.
However, with so many vacancies among the professors, few subjects were still being taught.
As a result, an unusually large number of students had gathered in a single lecture hall.
And.
“Hey, did you hear? Someone was walking alone in the opposite direction while monsters poured into the academy.”
“They say it was a student with bright red hair. Does anyone know who that is?”
“They also say that person killed the giant monster. Apparently, they looked like Iria from the first year.”
“Isn’t it Iria? Who else could it be besides Ariel and Iria? They said it was a female student, so it’s not Ariel. It has to be Iria, right?”
In the middle of the lecture hall, Iria sat quietly, enduring the intense gazes and whispered conversations directed at her.
“……”
Today, she felt like leaving early.