A wind that wasnât strong enough to cool down the heated air blew past Airn and Khun.
There was a sense of tension in the air which made it seem like a battle would spark any moment.
However, the match didnât start right away.
Step, step, Kirill started walking and stood there between the two. There were no signs of fear on her face. Khun, who got slightly flustered as he saw Kirill walk forward, asked.
âI want to take a look at sister Judith.â
âJust because she is fine, there is no reason to not help her, right? Wait a minute. I will lay her down and give her a simple healing.â
âWhat? Are you a priest?â
âI am a sorcerer. But a simple treatment is possible.â
âAh, donât fight immediately. I want to see my brother fight, as his sister.â
Was it because she was the sister of Airn Pareira, who was now famous on the continent? The woman didnât seem like a normal person. She had a dignified figure and seemed like an interesting person.
âOkay. Finish it and come quickly.â
âYes. Lulu, help me.â
Lulu, transformed into her sorcery girl form and raised her wand. And Judith, who was lying on the floor, started to float in the air.
Once Kirill and the others entered the house, Khun, who watched them, looked at Airn and asked.
âShe is quite different from you.â
âHave Judith and your sister already met each other? It didnât seem like it⊠but your sister seems to care about my disciple.â
âThis is their first meeting.â
Airn said with a smile. He couldnât understand her actions either.
Kirill must have felt something in Judith with her sorcery senses.
âI donât know for sure, but it is good that it worked out better than I hoped it would.â
After a while, the door opened.
Lulu returned as a cat, and Kirill came out with a proud expression.
âAh⊠I am not the type to listen to anyoneâŠâ
Khun smiled and mumbled. But he didnât feel bad.
After all, even from back when they were young, Airn knew that his younger sister was the type of person who was more popular with unusual people.
Airn, who thought that, took a stance with a serious expression.
The two exchanged glances as they raised their Aura.
The Aura Sword, which appeared at the same time, shone in gold and white.
Surprisingly, the difference in length wasnât that significant. Of course, it couldn't be better than Khunâs, since he was known to be the best on the continent.
However, there was another part that was truly shocking.
Without any sign of movement, Khunâs body disappeared.
And Airn let out a groan as he deflected the sword which came at him in an instant. He was really surprised and was almost on the verge of losing.
Khunâs sword was that fast.
As he moved his feet and narrowed the distance, he held out his sword.
Khun kept stabbing at Airn. And Airn raised his senses to the peak and countered it. Some of the attacks were avoided, and some of them were blocked.
And then, he tried to find his own pace. The energy of metal which welled up from within made Airnâs sword stronger and heavier.
His eyes, looking for the counterattack, shone sharply for a second.
Receiving the constantly pouring attacks from Khun, Airn realized how large the gap was between him and one of the three major swordsmen on the continent.
âI canât be strong with a heavy sword.â
A heavy sword wasnât necessarily a slow sword.
It was supposed to be a pressure-oriented sword that advances hard and heavy, and one that aimed to occupy the opponentâs space and limit the freedom of movement of the opponent.
However, it kept getting blocked from the start. Khun was always in a position where he could advance freely.
The opponentâs sword was always present and was constantly moving in for more space.
Not only did Khun have a strong sword, but he also had the most perfect posture and was fully prepared.
Even though Airnâs was a heavy sword that didnât get pushed back in a head-on collision, it wasnât possible for Airn to gain an advantage over opponents who were prepared, quickly.
âBut I canât give up like this.â
It was strange. If it was him when he was in Rabat, he wouldnât have been able to maintain his composure like now. He would have struggled to get Khunâs approval somehow, and made an unreasonable move to prove himself.
He didnât realize it, but the sword of water flowing through his heart was giving him a sense of calmness.
Of course, it wasnât just him being calm. Airn was a young swordsman.
Unlike the old swordsman who experienced a lot of stuff and had felt most of the world, Airn was still young and fairly inexperienced. So, his passion was still burning bright.
And the water tuned into that brightly burning passion.
He raised the energy of metal and blocked his opponentâs sword.
Khun found that interesting. He could feel the heaviness of Airnâs sword on his hands.
Airn counterattacked, aiming for that momentary gap. And added fire to the metal.
A sword that had been heated like an iron ingot at a metal forge was swung towards Khun.
âIt is beyond my imagination.â
The interest in Khunâs eyes grew.
He was honestly amazed. He thought that Airn was just a turtle in its shell trying hard to defend itself, but for the same kid to notice the gap in his movements and attack him.
And the attack wasnât even from a normal sword.
It had a strong will, and in addition to that, there was a hot and ferocious energy which refused to back down. If it was an opponent of the same level, the energy would have been terrifying.
Of course, Khun was higher than Airn.
He laughed and raised his Aura even more. And his strength, his Aura, and his mind all served to accelerate his body.
The sword of the great swordsman, who had a serious expression on his face, was swung at the opponent who had tried to smash him.
It kept falling over and over again.
After unleashing seven attacks in an instant, Khun took a step back with a relaxed attitude.
âYou are quite good.â
Airn couldnât follow his attacks. The opponentâs attacks were pouring down at him with an incredible speed which made even the wind blow away.
He realized that it was impossible to control the flow of his opponent with just metal.
Nodding his head, Airn tried to speak to Khun.
âYou can call me Mr. Khun comfortably. I am not very good with formality.â
â⊠Mr. Khun. Excuse me, but could you give me a moment?â
Khun stared at Airn. Normally he would have told him to not spew jokes and to get back into the match.
Who would ask an opponent to wait in the middle of the match? He probably would have said something like, âWhat is the need for a match if you need breaks?â
Just like Ian couldnât understand Khunâs sword. And like how Khun couldn't chase after Ianâs sword.
The juniors would be the same. It was unacceptable to treat Airn the way he taught Judith.
âI really did change as well.'
The person who had always trained and moved solely for defeating his opponents, now didnât.
Before he knew it, he was treating Airn with the attitude of a teacher and smiled.
âNot like a teacher⊠but like a senior, giving off a little generosityâŠâ
Khun, who thought till there, nodded his head.
And Airn too. His expression was strange.
The young Sword Master was hard as steel and hot as flames, but yet he felt calm and relaxed.
However, not exactly like Ian.
Khun showed interest in Airnâs energy.
Airn's Aura was the same.
Khunâs eyes lit up as he felt his opponent's Aura slowly and solemnly flow to his feet.
No, it couldnât be simply compared to water.
The flow of energy, which seemed plain and boring, suddenly changed violently at one point.
It was like a tsunami. The force of Airn rushing in, wasnât simple to be called as âjust like water.'
And to that ferocious energy, the energy of steel was also added.
Watching the massive and heavy attack falling at him, Khun nodded.
He smiled, and his eyes smiled too.
It was the same thought he had when he stopped Airnâs attack previously.
Faster, faster, and even faster, he shot out the sword towards Airn. In fact, it was as if his hands were on fire, and he wanted to cut down the opponent.
He wasnât the best talent, nor did he have a brilliant mind.
Unlike his rivals, who achieved remarkable achievements in many ways, his only achievement was the one weapon in his hand.
Of course, he didnât know about it.
He didnât even want to know it either.
Even without such a thing, he could deal with water.
With a terrifying speed, Khunâs rapid flurry of sword attacks kept hitting the wave.
It wasnât like Ianâs grand movement, but it was powerful and swift and poured in countless times, and the water that came had no choice but to submit to those attacks.
And the water was pushed aside.
But because it was water, it would eventually once again unite despite being cut, but the sword that kept cutting the water, kept pushing the water aside.1
And the attacks repeated countless times.
The result of this was the wave being split on both sides for a brief moment.
And lying in between that gap was the young and promising swordsman.
That gap was enough. And with a grin, Khun unleashed his sword, and the sword flew across the neck of the fully disarmed opponent.
Kirill and Lulu, who were watching it, said nothing.
It was the same with Airn.
Completely different from Ian, he had a blank expression at the opponent, who managed to find a way out. And smiled.
âThank you so much. I learned a lot.â
"⊠learned my ass; you can't even follow it.â
Khun, who had the sword in his hand grumbled, as he looked at Airn.
It felt good, but also not good at the same time.
He glanced at the house and thought of Judith.
'I won't say it is impossible, butâŠ'
She was walking down a more difficult path than him.
Mumbling in his mind, he sighed.
I do not think there is actual 'water,' but I think it's probably the manifestation of Aura, very similar to the technique Bratt had shown earlier, but far more advanced.â©