204: Among Geniuses (1)

Ignet Crescentia.

The most talented swordsman on the continent. But to be precise, until a year ago, she wasn’t a swordsman but rather just a sword holder.

It was because she used the blade as just a weapon and not a sword.1

But it wasn’t because she couldn’t handle the sword, but because the blade was the best weapon for her.

But not now.

No matter how good the Vulcanus Numbering Sword was, it couldn’t be compared to the Holy Sword given to her by the Holy King himself.

Ignet quickly adapted to it, and surprised people with even greater skills than before.

And now.

In the secluded training hall, her all-out attacks were rushing towards Joshua Lindsay.

Swosh!

Ignet’s unique swordsmanship.

And it was obviously aimed to wound.

But the attacks weren’t in a straight line, but rather gave out a feeling of slashing by returning and swinging in a circle.

And slashing wasn’t easy either.

To be precise, the skill she displayed was so great that it was hard for normal people to tell if she wanted to stab or slash till the two swords clashed.

And even at this skill level, the speed of their attacks was terrifying, and the power behind each of those attacks was amazing. It was a movement that Airn couldn’t imitate.

Thung!

Of course, Joshua wasn’t flustered.

With the aura and wind around him, he stood straight. And simultaneously, he would give out a powerful force like a typhoon.

With a more serious expression, he calmly handled Ignet’s sword.

Block, block and block again. A similar pattern continued for a while.

And the offensive of Ignet was gaining momentum.

Kwang!

Kwang!

Kwang!

She stretched out her sword nonstop and moved her feet. And it didn’t stop there.

Drawing out even greater power, she kept pressing Joshua Lindsay from all sides.

Like dozens of eagles coming at one tortoise.

A terrifying beam of light flashed in her eyes. Airn gulped without realizing.

At that moment, an unbelievable energy erupted from Joshua’s body.

“…!”

Jjkk!

Phat!

Ignet’s smile disappeared. Her frantic pouring of sword strikes, as well as her constantly moving feet, stopped at once.

With a serious expression, she retreated with terrifying speed. And right after that, Joshua swung his sword.

Kwakwakwakwa!

As if the wind had been compressed to an extreme limit and then let out, the sword swept away everything around them.

There was nothing left.

Neither Ignet, not her attacks or her force which was burning fiercely just a little while ago, could be seen. Everything disappeared in front of that wind.

“Uh!”

But Joshua’s counterattack didn’t stop there.

In an instant, he swung the sword five times and shot forward.

Seeing that, Ignet swung her sword. It was like a wildfire that spread without control.

Airn nodded at her response to not back down again and her decision to handle the attack.

Pure power vs power.

Strike vs strike.

The surrounding place shattered as the two swords clashed head-on.

The floor of the gymnasium exploded, and the tiles scattered in all directions, and it was followed by a roar that seemed to have vibrated throughout the heavens and the earth.

The fight between the two monsters turned the surrounding area into ruins.

And Airn Pareira, who was standing at the end, was watching everything without blinking his eyes, trying to understand everything they did.

‘What is this…this feeling?’

Watching swordsmen who were stronger than him fight was helpful.

Apart from swordsmanship, other things like their gait, breathing, aura operation and many other things could be learned.

And if it was a confrontation between the Lindsay Patriarch and the Black Knights commander, there would be hundreds of swordsmen who would give up their entire fortunes to see it.2

However, Airn wasn’t looking at their swordsmanship.

It wasn’t Joshua’s hurricane-like attack or Ignet’s burning counterattack.

He didn’t know why, but Airn was looking at the two with his heart and not his head.

Of course, that wasn’t always the case.

Kwang!

It ended with a deafening roar. And it was a win for Joshua Lindsay.

As the dust settled, the figure of Ignet, stretched out on the broken ground, was revealed.

As Airn stared at Joshua Lindsay, the patriarch, who had a cold expression, as usual, asked.

“Did you get anything?”

“Haaa… unfortunately, not much. But thank you.”

“If you are thankful, then get up. I want to take you down a few more times.”

“If you want that, I can do it… phew, I don’t care if you want to beat me to your heart’s content.”

Airn nodded his head as he heard the exchange between the two.

It was a short conversation, but it was understandable.

Ignet asked for a duel with Joshua, hoping for a new realization, and the Lord accepted it, and the current situation had occurred.

‘But what is the Patriarch thinking?’

The air seemed eerie.

Airn knew better than anyone what happened with the Lindsay family and Ignet, yet he couldn’t imagine how Joshua was feeling about this.

In fact, he didn’t understand why the man even accepted the duel.

Was it because he didn’t like running away from a challenge?

And if not that, did he want to defeat Ignet?

His head was filled with such complicated thoughts.

No one had done anything wrong. But a tragedy had occurred nonetheless. It was a frustrating reality.

There was nothing a third person could say.

Airn continued to remain silent when the Lord glanced at him before walking towards Ignet.

‘He actually wants to fight more?’

Airn was puzzled.

To him, Joshua was the kind of man who was serious in everything he did. He was also a father who loved his kids more than anything.

There was a possibility that he didn’t take Ignet’s joke as just a joke.

Thud!

Fortunately, he didn’t harm the exhausted Ignet.

He didn’t stare down at the woman with bloody eyes, nor did he say anything.

Surprisingly, he sat down near the woman and looked at the sky as he recounted the story.

“…”

His story was nothing special.

The sorrow of a father who had lost his son, a sadness which anyone could imagine, was being said casually.

However, the weight of the emotions within him as he said the story was great. And despite the calm words, the sadness could be felt.

“The funny thing is I couldn’t think of anyone else to confide in, but you.”

Perhaps, it was really funny for him because Joshua, who always had a cold expression, now had a subtle smile on his face.

However, he looked at Ignet with cold eyes.

No, he was looking at Ignet’s past self. At the woman who hadn’t even enrolled in the Holy Kingdom yet.

“Do you have anything to say?”

“…”

Silence.

And time passed. It wasn’t much, probably just enough time to take a deep breath. Not even a minute had passed.

But as Airn watched her, it felt like more time had passed.

Nothing could be guessed. To be more precise, his thoughts leaned towards her, who had nothing to say.

The Ignet he knew was like this. A person who had no interest in others. A person who didn’t care about anything else other than the path she wanted to pursue.

It never occurred to him that this woman would have any feelings for trampling over a kid 10 years ago.

And Airn’s judgement was right.

She didn’t open her mouth as she continued to think.

She was on the floor, looking at the sky, and little by little, Joshua’s nails dug into his palm.

Which was why it was shocking. In the dark and heavy air that had set around them, Ignet brought up her own story, and it was not about Carl Lindsay.

“When I was young, there was a time when I lived in an abandoned house with younger kids and friends of my age.”

“…”

“…”

Airn and Joshua were shocked at those words.

It was because her story wasn’t known to the world despite her fame, a personal story which she had experienced by herself and had not shared with others.

Why?

No one asked.

They all just silently listened.

To the meaning of the thoughts behind Ignet’s actions, the things she had cherished and experienced.

30 minutes passed.

However, there was no mention of Carl Lindsay in it.

Then why bring up this story at all?

Just as their doubts rose, she said.

“To be honest. I never thought about your son, Carl Lindsay. And it will be the same even now.”

“…”

“However, I knew what kind of person the Lord is and what you were for your son, what thoughts I had and lived and what kind of meaning I had in life… I thought I should tell you about this.”

Airn glanced at Joshua Lindsay and Ignet.

No, it wasn’t Ignet.

Today, she wasn’t the 17-year-old commoner Ignet, but rather the Ignet Crescentia who had developed over 12 years.3

And as Joshua Lindsay realized that, he clenched his fist even stronger, which made drops of blood fall down from his palms.

But that was it.

Releasing his clenched fist, he sighed.

After a long time of thinking about something, he turned to Airn and said,

“If you have something to say, say it.”

“Huh?”

“You watched other people’s duels for free and heard their personal stories too, wouldn’t it be appropriate for you to release something out of your mouth as well?”

“…”

Airn, who was confused, nodded his head.

Rather than saying that Joshua Lindsay was right, he, too, felt the urge to tell his own story.

And it was at that moment that he realized.

Why he couldn’t immerse himself in the fight between the two.

He instinctively felt it.

To understand the art of swordsmanship and how to use aura was, of course, important.

But what was even more important than that was the exchange of their hearts.

‘It has been the same for me.’

Airn remembered the events in his life till now.

All the Duels, discussions, and spectating. It wasn’t that they didn’t help.

But thinking about what brought in the most growth to him, he realized that it was looking into the hearts of others rather than what they wanted to show him.

When he was a prospective trainee, he heard things about Ilya, and his spirit grew.

A year and a half ago, his spirit rose again after his fight with Ignet.

The agony and anguish he had in his previous life were of great help as well.

If he couldn’t have communicated with his past self, he would still be wandering with no aim.

‘It is the same for Judith and Bratt. I… through the exchanges, I have grown together with them.’

Airn looked at the two people in front of him.

The thoughts and feelings and hearts of the monsters in front of him, with whom he couldn’t compare with, flowed into him.

Even if they wouldn’t help him immediately, it would definitely be of use to Airn in the future.

“What are you doing? Speak already.”

“…”

Joshua’s push and Ignet’s gaze.

Airn resisted laughter as he realized he liked this.

Isn’t it a story he talked about a lot with his friends?

The only difference was that these two people weren’t close to him.

One was a senior with much stronger skills, and the other was one among the famed strongest people.

And such strong people were waiting for him to speak.

Showing interest in him. Reaching out for an exchange.

And that gave satisfaction to Airn. And it brought in new joy.

“I…”

He shared his story in the most enjoyable mood.

Naturally, it wasn’t just his own story, but the one with his friends.

It was the story of what he experienced when he travelled with Lulu and Kuvar, and Ilya, and Judith and Bratt.

Wheik

It was when the story was done.

The sound of something burning came up beside them, to which Joshua and Airn turned their heads in surprise.

They looked at Ignet, who was burning in an aura of flame.

“This…”

She was in a mysterious condition with her eyes closed.

It was clear, she was having a moment of enlightenment. Although it was Airn’s first time witnessing it, he knew.

For a second, he was blank, and then he became serious, but he soon felt glad that his story was of help to Ignet.

However, the significant gap between them had widened even further.

Airn’s heart, which had two opposing emotions, was raging like Ignet’s body.

“…”

Joshua Lindsay, who looked at him, had an unreadable expression.