/
Four humans, an orc and a cat, gathered on a piece of land where there were few trees, rocks, and clouds.
That alone was a strange sight, but their actions were even more bizarre.
Tododod!
“Captain! Captain! I got the corpses! Praise me!”
“You did great. You are a hundred, no a thousand times better than that stupid Georg.”
“
”
A girl was casually collecting corpses, and a beautiful woman was praising her actions, and a man was looking at it as if it was a daily thing.
Whoop!
Whoop!
Whoop!
A young blonde with no regard for those three was wielding his sword to stretch his body.
The other two didn’t say anything.
The Orc with tattoos on his arms, and a flying cat, were unique in their own way.
One of the unique ones, Kuvar, an Orc Spiritualist. Said.
“There has to be
”
His voice was weak, and he had an expression full of concern.
He saw the energy of Irene, which was released in front of the corrupt Charlotte and Victor.
The air became so cold that it was incomparable to the one shown in Alhad.
‘If she is the commander of the Black Knights of the Holy Kingdom, she must have killed a lot of demons. If she put her mind to it, she could actually look like a demon in front of us.’
Would Irene be able to withstand such a person?
He wasn’t sure.
To him, Lulu said.
“Kuvar, believe in him.”
“
”
“Irene is a thoughtful and frustrated child, but he isn’t the type who can’t keep his words. He said those words because he’s confident.”
“
 right. You’re right.”
Kuvar nodded and looked at Irene.
His eyes were filled with trust in the man.
But something happened, which the two didn’t expect.
‘Can I do this?’
Irene Pareira, wasn’t too sure of himself.
Actually, it was normal to think that. If there was another way, Irene would not have gone on the continental trip in the first place.
Then, why did he ask for a duel with Ignet Crescentia?
It was out of anger.
‘It’s strange. Why was I so angry?’
At first, he thought it was because of Ilya Lindsay.
He remembered what she said.
The story she told after the final evaluation.
The person that Ilya was aiming to catch up with, a goal Ilya had to overcome at all costs.
That existence was in front of his eyes, and as if that wasn’t enough, she was asking for him to become a member of her knights.
The moment he ended up getting lost in the situation, he thought that he would never be able to see Ilya if he let this woman dominate him.
But that wasn’t it.
The more he warmed up for the match, the more he swung the sword, the more his heart realized that that wasn’t true.
He realized that that wasn’t the reason, and it was only after a few minutes that he realized he was angry with Ignet.
‘Why?’
Irene pondered.
He wasn’t the kind to get angry.
Even if he heard harsh words, even when people laughed at him, he never acted out.
It was the same in Krono when he was training silently despite the ridicule which came for him in the beginning.
There was only one time that Irene was angry at someone.
It was towards Viscount Gairn.
However, this was different from that.
That incident happened because hatred accumulated for more than 10 years, and he felt bad for his father and blamed himself for not looking after his parents, that couldn’t be compared to now.
In the end, five minutes passed and Irene couldn’t properly comprehend his feelings.
However, he had a different realization that came from somewhere else.
He realized that anger was the only way to control the man’s will.
Whoop!
Irene Pareira’s fire grew strong.
Nothing was visible. It was a fire inside his heart.
However, everyone gathered on the plains noticed it.
Kuvar, Lulu, Anya, Georg and even Ignet looked at the blonde man.
Irene didn’t care.
He lowered his sword and closed his eyes.
And began the imagery training that he learned at Vulcanus’s forge.
Woong!
Five, no six years ago. A small spark came to life when he was pursuing Ilya Lindsay who was running ahead of him.
And it grew with the advice Kuvar gave once they reached Derinku.
Even in front of Charlotte and Victor, who were clearly ahead of him, he was able to hold his ground.
But that wasn’t enough.
Irene had been lacking for a long time.
The will of the man in his dreams was steel and it went beyond the iron lump.
A much hotter fire was needed to trim down that iron stake in his heart, which had been formed by the man.
And now, an unparalleled fire blazed in Irene’s heart.
Crackle!
Embers.
Fire.
At long last, the flames in his heart were large and hot enough to be called a fire.
Irene brought it to the iron stake.
And he concentrated and tried to pound it.
Kang!
Kang!
Kang!
Still not enough.
The iron stake was so big and hard that it seemed like it wouldn’t be possible to create a sword with a brief attempt.
But Irene didn’t give up.
Irene continued to pound on the heated iron stake.
Then, little by little, change occurred.
Kang!
Kang!
Kang!
Instead of hammering the whole thing, he focused on one place, the tip.
Not getting tired, he kept hitting it.
As a result of constantly hitting it, its form changed.
It took the shape of a sword that couldn’t be grasped, and its handle, though crude, could be held and wielded.
“Phew.”
Irene took a deep breath and exhaled.
Sweat poured down from his forehead, cheek, and his chin.
He couldn’t feel it.
He was in the middle of lifting a huge iron stake with both hands.
Kuuuu
!
He felt an amazing power.
Irene always thought he knew the extent of the man’s power, but no, he didn’t.
The feeling right now
 was like he was lifting a mountain made of steel.
‘Of course, it’s still difficult to handle, but
’
Irene swung the iron stake in his heart a couple times.
It wasn’t easy. It was so heavy that his body would lean in the direction the iron stake moved.
But it was fine.
Irene Pareira finally opened his eyes.
As if waiting for a long time, with her sword on her shoulder, Ignet stood still.
“Looks like you’re ready.”
“
 yes.”
Irene nodded his head.
It was enough. A completely different confidence than before awakened in his body.
He stared at Ignet with a hot gaze that wanted to burn anything.
And she said,
“I won’t back down because you’re a junior. Act as you please, until our swords collide three times.”
“Yes.”
“The duel starts the moment I radiate energy. Do you understand?”
“Yes.”
“Then
”
Ignet lowered her sword.
That was too much leeway in front of an Expert Level swordsman, but no one pointed it out.
Because she is one of the Sword Masters, who are fewer than 100 on the continent.
However, Irene, who faced her, didn’t look timid.
He was like a steel giant with flames all over its body.
Energy rose from Ignet’s body as she looked at him.
Puahhh!
Fear, darkness, void.
As if a real demon appeared, terrifying energy spread out.
The power of the commander of the Holy Kingdom’s Black Knights.
Irene’s eyes twitched.
It was because the energy of the man in his dreams was coming out.
The iron stake in his heart, no, the greatsword in reality swung here and there.
Kuk!
Irene clenched his hands.
The scorching flames and strong winds as he grabbed the handle.
A grip strong enough to crush even a rock into powder, and then the tremors subsided little by little, and stopped completely.
He won. He finally overcame it.
It was when he smiled with joy because he achieved the result he wanted.
Ignet, who took a stance, began to run at a terrifying speed.
Tat!
She swung her sword, reaching for her opponent’s nose with one huge leap.
Irene was shocked at the diagonal cut that flew from the bottom to the top.
Kwang!
“Kuak!”
Even though it was a fight where one had a one-handed sword, and the other had a two-handed sword, Irene was pushed back. Irene, who had taken five steps back, was about to say something.
But there was no room for talking.
Ignet came back again, and Irene responded by clenching his teeth.
Kang!
Kwang!
Kwang!
In an instant, three clashes.
Each time Irene stepped back, he lost his balance.
Not only did his hands and feet hurt, but he also would feel dizzy, and he couldn’t get focused right away after each hit.
In the midst of that, he couldn’t block the fist that came for him.
Puck!
“Kuak
”
A punch powerful enough to make one's feet leave the ground.
Irene Pareira, who was on his knees, couldn’t stand the pain and passed out.
The fight was over.
Woong!
A breeze blew across the wide plain.
It was a quiet sound.
The first to speak was Georg, who had been with Ignet since his mercenary days.
“Are you going to take him?”
“Are you saying that I’m a liar? Irene proved his words.”
“I know. But haven’t you already lied?”
“What do you mean?”
“Didn’t you say only three sword strikes?”
“It was a lesson for the junior. How can one get through the harsh world with a simple and innocent heart that truly believes what others say?”
“
”
“
 there are other reasons. But this one wasn’t trying to prove himself.”
“Then
”
“He was trying to beat me. Sincerely.”
“Huh?”
Even Georg was shocked.
Trying to sincerely defeat the 3rd ranked swordsman in the Holy Kingdom, who’s been a Sword Master for 7 years already.
The word ‘crazy’ wasn’t enough to describe that.
“He’s completely crazy.”
“Right. Crazy.”
Ignet looked at the fallen Irene.
The Orc and talking cat were there concerned and worried about him.
And she who saw it said,
“Even then, I want to have that guy by my side.”
“Uhm
”
Irene Pareira opened his eyes with a groan.
He had a different dream than normal. A dream of Ignet.
The woman in his dreams was beating him without listening to his words.
He was hit despite blocking, and even when he ran or stood still, the hits kept coming.
He was so tense that he came to his senses.
He sighed as he looked around.
Kuvar was dozing in a chair to his left, and Lulu was snoring on his lap.
‘They must have brought me here when I fainted. Did we come back to Derinku?’
With that, he turned his head to the right to find Ignet Crescentia sitting there.
Irene gasped.
“Eik!”
The Orc and the cat woke up late and looked at him.
After looking at him for a long time, she said.
“Still, I like this guy quite a lot.”