Pavar, where Judith spent her childhood, was a seaside town with a messy neighborhood infested with tough men.
Every time she closed her eyes, she still remembered what she had felt then. The fishy smell brushing past her nose and the men waving their fist and the prostitutes fanning their faces with fansâŚ
Of course, not all parts of the town were rough. Otherwise, there wouldnât be any street travelers.
Judith who was a little kid, had always noticed and moved to places she felt safe.
Clean roads.
People walking down the street with relaxed expressions.
The shopkeepers who treated people politely and the shiny cool things in the shop.
Among them, the item she coveted the most was the cake. In the most famous bakery in the town, there was a cake decorated with whipped cream and fruits. It was well preserved in a shelf
Of course, she couldnât eat it. She couldnât even look at it for a long time.
For a beggar from a slum, just being on a clean street was a crime. Judith returned to her place with regret and continued to beg. She continued to work harder than everyone.
If she didnât do it so desperately, she wouldnât have any food to eat for the day, and if she didnât get any money, she couldnât even buy black bread.
Shh.
Judithâs hand moved. In front of her was an old man who had fallen asleep due to exhaustion. His pocket was secretly emptied. The girl who ran away sighed in relief and was able to safely obtain black bread for the night.
But it wasnât delicious.
She wanted the cake that looked infinitely more delicious than what she was eating.
Some day she would get it. She would really eat it. The childâs heart was greedy, and a goal had formed.
âIn a way, it wasnât from then.â
Looking back at the past, Judith had a bitter smile.
Right, she had a lot of things she wanted, a lot of things she couldnât eat. She was lacking a lot of things and made that her desire. And that gave birth to the poison within her.
She didnât want to lose.
She didnât want to be left behind. She didnât want to go back to the slums again.
Such a mind led Judith to Krono. And it led to her becoming the 4th ranking trainee in the final test.
She became an official trainee, which was difficult for even geniuses to do and reached the level of Expert.
But it wasnât easy.
Everything Judith wanted to achieve was achieved in the midst of the competition. But she still wanted to overwhelm people and trample on others.
It felt like death the moment she was not cared for⌠or it was more of an intense stress to the point of death.
It was only with that level of determination that she could barely complete with the real geniuses.
By burning others.
No⌠by burning herself.
Just like that, she achieved something in the midst of the fireâŚ
Wheik!
Tuk!
âWhat is this?â
âIs this your first time having it?â
âNo, why are you giving this to me so suddenly?â
âIf someone gives it to you, it means you should eat it. So arenât you going to eat?â
Now, she was giving something to others.
âThings are strange these days.â
âW-what are?â
Khun, an old man with great muscles despite his age, opened his eyes and looked at his disciple.
Although she was a bit taken aback, Judith tried to keep her composure as much as she could and focused on her training.
Wong~
Woong!
âLower the sword!â
Woong
Horizontal cut
Sometimes she did stabs and other times they were smooth movements.
It was graceful swordsmanship which was admirable. Even Khun, who was called one of three greatest swordsmen on the continent, admired it.
However, it was a lie. This wasnât her skill.
But Judith felt satisfied.
The red-haired swordswoman who hid her power from her teacher said.
âHow is it? Is this enough, is it worthwhile to go to the Warriorâs Festival with this?â
âHmm.â
âAh, this is bad! I am a lot stronger than before; canât you see!?â
âHmmâŚâ
âHaa, you wonât admit it! Do you hate praising your disciple so much?â
âOf course. I donât like it. A cheeky disciple like you shouldnât be praised often.â
âUgh. I am so tired.â
Shaking her head, Judith entered the house. Khun still thought Judithâs behavior was strange but didnât think too much of it and swung his sword.
The disciple watched the teacher through the window.
âI should never get caught.â
She nodded with a firm expression.
It wasnât known what had happened, but she found herself in a dream. And it wasnât just her, but her teacher, Khun was also here.
She greeted him like nothing happened and he asked about the Warriorâs festival. To be precise, he teased her about how it would feel to come back broken from there.
And she liked that even more.
It was nice to hear those irritating responses from him.
A friend.
A teacher
And a family.
She could have all this without competition⌠without trampling on othersâŚ
For Judith, this was the most precious thing.
The moment she faced the existence who was like her teacher and grandfather whom she had thought she would never see again, Judith stopped thinking about getting out of the dream.
And she lost her reason to go back to Godara.
â⌠should I make simple pasta next time? No, it will be a little strange if I do it suddenly.â
Judithâs expression was distorted. It was an expression she never had before.
Words and actions she never expressed.
But she wanted to do it. Contrary to other desires, the advancement of relationship with humans didnât need competition.
She felt happy but then she realized.
âNoâ
It isnât too late.
As long as he doesnât know it.
If the other person didnât know that this was a dream. If only she couldâŚ
There was no need to suffer anymore.
The black cat appeared as Judith thought that.
Pung!
âItâs not a good thought.â
ââŚâ
âI did tell you before, Judith. The guest given to you is âgetting out of your dreamâ. Staying here wonât change anything.â
ââŚâ
âAre you listening, Judith?â
Judith stood up without answering. She grabbed her sword and opened the door as she went out.
Click.
Lulu, who had suddenly been left alone, looked through the window at Judith.
She looked happy fighting Khun.
â⌠in the end, you will have to make the choice.â
The black cat who watched them for a longer time disappeared with a bitter look.
She was worried, but not anxious. There was no need for her to intervene.
âBecause there was a helper for that.â
Lulu recalled the old manâs appearance and returned to her seat and rested.
She usually slept for more than two-thirds of the day but it wasnât because she was a cat.
Flash
ââŚâ
Lulu who returned to the form of a dragon, fell into a deep sleep.
A month had passed.
Khun was still training. He swung his sword day and night, and Judith looked at him with delight.
âWhy are you looking at me like this?â
âHuh, why?â
âYou are making a strange face.â
âIâm not! My face is just on the weird side.â
âAre you in your right mind? You are calling your own face weird to not lose a fight?â
âNo matter how weird it is, it can be better than teacherâs.â
âHuh, when I was your ageâŚâ
And the fight began. The grumbling teacher and disciple.
It wasnât bad. This was what she had always wanted, and Judith was happy as she swung her sword and looked at Khun.
Swish!
Swish!
The number of doubts decreased, and the number of swings increased even more.
The dream was still sweet.
A year had passed now.
And Khun suddenly asked.
âWhy isnât he coming here?â
â⌠Uh? Who?â
âWho? Your lover.â
ââŚâ
Judith, who was wielding the sword, stopped and then moved again. But it was not as natural as before.
âWell, he must be busy.â
She wanted to change the topic. But she couldnât remember anything else, and her heart pounded.
She remembered the fact that this place wasnât real and that this was a dream, and it made her uneasy. She felt nervous and annoyed as she thought about it.
âHmm, well. It has been more than three years since I met Keira.â
âHahaha. It really has been a while.â
âIs that so? Should I go to her then?â
âNo!â
ââŚ?â
âUh, I⌠I am stuck with my training, can you help me with this?â
There was an unnatural change of topic coupled with a strange attitude.
Khun stayed silent and watched his discipleâŚ
ââŚ. Sure. Letâs see it once.â
Without any other question, he responded to her request.
Of course, it wasnât smooth.
Relentless words, actions, and battles followed!
Judith sat down exhausted.
âAh, I might die!â
She wasnât tired.
It wasnât like she didnât work her body but trying to act something out and hide her skills was more difficult.
âWeak bastard.â
âThat isnât something you should say to your disciple.â
Ridicule came out again. Judith had had fun despite being exhausted and another fight ensued shortly after. They fired harsh words at each other.
But it was fine.
Despite her temper on the outside, she was smiling inside.
The dream still went on and it was still sweet.
The year had passed.
Unlike usual, when it was always noisy, todayâs mealtime was quiet. Only the sound of tableware could be heard and even that would went silent soon.
Soon silence came. The teacher and disciple didnât talk.
Fret.
Unrest
Worry.
Feeling all sorts of bad emotions, Judith looked down. She couldnât make eye contact with her teacher. She didnât want to talk. At least not now.
However, that wasnât possible.
Khun who looked at his disciple, finally said.
âNow go back.â
Judithâs stomach churned.
She knew that she would get caught some day.
She knew in her head that she couldnât stay here forever. Someone who already passed had to be relieved of their burdens. That was what should be done.
⌠but she couldnât do it.
Wheik!
Judith, who raised the energy of flames within her slowly raised her head.
With blazing eyes, she looked at Khun
Looking at him facing her calmly, she said.
âI have something to say.â
âYes, you do.â
She nodded and got up as she grabbed the sword.
She remembered the past.
How had she always got what she wanted?
ââŚa fight.â
The moment she should that.
A huge energy surged from her red sword.
Wheik!
âWith a spar.â
ââŚâ
âWe have to spar. If I defeat teacher I will stay here. Until I want to.â
Listening to his disciple, the teacher looked up. The flames from Judith were touching the ceiling.
It was rough compared to a Sword Masterâs aura. But it was more intense than an ordinary masterâs.
Arguably, it didnât amount to much when it came to control, but in the eyes of Khun, it was worthy to be called an âAura Swordâ.