Chapter 333 – Reunion (2)

“…”

It was a luxurious interior. But it wasn’t too flashy.

Ignet Crescentia woke up to see a table in front of her with hot tea served, and looked around. It was a difficult situation to understand. She was in the middle of meditating in a secluded mountain near Avilius, and when she came to her senses, she was here.

The space around her changed even though she hadn’t realized it.

What was more shocking was that this wasn’t the first time she was seeing this place.

The familiar furniture.

A unique tea scent that caught her nose.

It was the drawing-room of the Lindsay family.

This wasn’t how it was like currently, however. But it looked like this when she was 16 and came looking for a match against the Lindsay heir.

This completely confused her senses.

This couldn’t be happening.

Ignet nodded her head. When she saw that something outrightly absurd was happening, her thoughts calmed down.

“Sorcery.”

However, it wasn’t as if sorcery had suddenly taken birth in her.

She could feel it. All the things in this place… the air and sunlight outside, and everything else that was in this place was made for watching her. So that they could look at her.

The being who brought her here.

The man who hoped for a reunion with Ignet so much that he made a miracle happen.

‘This is fun.’

She smiled for a moment.

Suddenly the door opened. A person without eyes, nose, or mouth entered, and bowed its head, and began to guide her.

Ignet didn’t hesitate to follow. After drinking the hot tea in front of her, she quietly followed the guide and left the place.

The scent of the blooming flowers made her heart flutter, unlike before.

‘I have definitely changed.’

Feeling everything around her, Ignet nodded to herself.

She really had changed. If it was her former self, she wouldn’t have felt so moved by this reunion.

But now.

Recently, she watched Airn Pareira’s growth.

She also watched Ilya Lindsay grow.

She remembered Judith’s performance and Bratt Lloyd’s struggle.

It was unexpected for her to see such people who could soar so high so quickly.

Airn, the sword nerd who constantly swung his sword with a stake in his heart, and Ilya, whom she had no interest in until they met in Rabat.

Not to mention the other two. She didn’t even care about them before.

Arrogance

It was a mistake.

What was lacking wasn’t in them, but in her. It was her own perspective that fell behind.

Realizing that, Ignet recalled the disappointment of her old relationship.

‘It will be different this time.’

She nodded.

It would be different. She wasn’t perfect enough to judge someone’s potential.

She was far from perfect, and she was nothing more than a weak person who was afraid of the speed at which her juniors were following her.

So, she had to show them.

That she was wrong.

She had to prove that the judgment she had made in the past was absurd and rude.

With that thought, she stepped into the training hall.

“…”

And was reunited with the person she wanted.

No.

This wasn’t what he looked like. He looked completely different.

“Phew.”

Taking a deep breath, she sighed.

The fierce fighting spirit cooled in an instant, and the fluttering heart calmly subsided. With a cold gaze, she looked at her opponent and then to the left.

Ignet looked around at the surroundings and spoke to herself.

“This is strange. Then it means that this space wasn’t made by sorcery. Ah…”

She frowned and looked at the training hall.

She tried to tap in, hear and use all her senses to figure out where she was.

However, she wasn’t given the time to do it.

Puah!

An energy so great that it was impossible for her to capture, flew to where she was.

Wooong!

A ferocious aura flowed through the sword.

The black blade of her opponent quickly formed into a weird creepy fleshy one.

“… I.”

Kwang!

Carl, the owner of the black aura, disappeared, leaving behind a huge crack on the floor, and opened his mouth. He swung the sword with a shout, and Ignet received it.

The shock was so much that concentric circles of wind spread out with them at the center. With their swords facing each other, the two swordsmen looked at each other.

“I will make you look back.”

“I am not interested.”

Her voice was as sharp as her sword. But there was no passion.

The voice of Ignet was indifferent.

The person who heard that became unable to stand it.

To go through with it.

From the black sword of the gray-haired man, an aura that was unstoppable in power poured out.

Kwang!

Kwaang!

Kwaang!

Roars like thunder resounded throughout the place. The black aura that constantly poured down was violently sweeping away Ignet.

It was a force that was swung with the aim of blowing her head off.

Kwang!

A lower left slash aimed to immediately attack after a block, and it then proceeded into a constant flurry of clashes and stabs!

Most of them were blocked, and several strikes were stopped, but nothing was in favor of Ignet.

A black vortex formed in the place where the sword had swept through.

Hoong!

Woong!

The Sky Sword.

Feeling the strong wind that filled the place within a minute of the match starting, Ignet tilted her head.

It wasn’t because she was doubtful of her opponent.

She mumbled

“It is strange. As the commander of Holy Knight, I couldn’t notice that skill you used. It isn’t even sorcery; how is it possible…”

Pung!

Pupupung!

Before she could even finish, the Sky Sword fell down on her. Continuous storms flew in, destroying the floor of the training hall, and it kept roaring towards her, wanting to tear Ignet down.

But it didn’t reach her.

She swung her sword to the floor, and an explosion occurred. The sword of light blew away the darkness and turned it into nothing.

“Phew.”

Carl wasn’t disappointed.

No one knew better than him how great the opponent was. She was the winner of the Warrior’s Festival, but she was different now.

Looking at Ignet, who was much more observant than in the past and constantly studying the things around her, he raised his sword.

Kwaaaaaa!

The darkness which had been scattered by the light came to a halt in its place, and another energy was added.

Aura, which was filling the place even before Ignet arrived, turned into a tsunami and pushed into the center.

The Black Knight Commander stared at the waves coming in from all directions and lowered her body.

Tuk,

Her thighs swelled like a wild cat.

Kwaaang!

A tremendous sound with speed.

Pung!

The wave, which felt crueler than a metal wall, exploded with a roar.

The aura fragments smashed into the spaces around them again, making Ignet suffer a blow.

But it worked fine.

Her appearance, leisurely letting go of the aftermath of the power she witnessed, was like looking at a hero from the myth.

But it wasn’t over.

Carl wasn’t as inexperienced as Bratt. Despite already using the aura as waves, he was still full of energy and anger and flame.

The hatred which wasn’t quenched for 15 years reconciled to a black flame and ripped through his body.

Kuak.

He groaned, but it didn’t stop. He couldn’t stop it.

Wheik!

Carl, who had the appearance of a fallen star from hell, glared at Ignet as he grew stronger and got more emotional.

He stared at his opponent with his sharp eyes.

“… it wasn’t Ignet.”

“Carl Lindsay.”

She looked straight into his eyes for the second time after their meeting.

“Not you, but I am the creator of this space.”

“…”

“It is interesting. A place which can only be discerned only if a person in the Holy Kingdom concentrates his or her whole mind into it.”

“…!”

When he realized that she was still looking at someone other than him…when he was faced with the cruel reality.

Carl felt everything within him explode.

With a loud scream, he smashed his surroundings in anger.

“Why are you not looking at me!”

“…”

“Why! Why, is Carl Lindsay… not being looked at!”

He trembled in anger.

It was a mistake. He wasn’t Carl Lindsay. He was Carl, the incarnation of revenge born from throwing away the name of his family.

Of course, it wasn’t important now.

More importantly, despite the reunion after 15 years, Ignet was still standing with an expressionless face in front of him.

He had come this far with one thought in his mind: To cut off all his ties with the world and defeat Ignet Crescentia, who destroyed him.

He was standing here after enduring immense pain, suffering, sadness, and frustration.

But.

The opponent wasn’t looking at him.

‘Why…!’

It was strange.

It was Carl who took down the fastest swordsman and one of the top three swordsmen of the continent, Khun.

Because of this, he even ignored the Demon Heart1 that was further corrupting him before the match.

He had to check it for himself. What the other contestants looked like in their fight against Ignet Crescentia, the monster, who was born with perfect talent. What kind of swordsmanship they used?

It was for that reason that Carl showed the Sky Sword, which he hadn’t used till now.

It was for that reason that he made sure that his aura was filling the training hall before Ignet arrived.

It was for that same reason that he had a spark burning within him.

Because they did it.

Ilya, Bratt, and Judith.

It was because their swordsmanship interested Ignet and made her look straight at them without ignoring them, unlike him.

Yet.

Yet!

That damn black-haired swordsman was never looking at him. She was never dealing with him properly.

He couldn’t stand it.

He couldn’t comprehend it.

It was the moment when Carl, who once again ignited a strong dark flame, was about to scream.

“Funny guy.”

“What?”

At the sudden sneer which came, Carl went wild. Even though it wasn’t a huge thing, he wanted to kill.

Ignet, who thought it was funny, laughed.

“Tell me! Why! Why am I a funny…”

“How can I not call you a funny one when you introduce yourself as Carl Lindsay when you have been gone for over 10 years without saying a word to your own family?”

“…”

“Of course, that isn’t the only funny thing. Whether you want to live as Carl Lindsay without abandoning the name of your family or if you want to live as Carl and give up your family name… none of it holds any meaning now. You idiot.”

“What did you just…”

“Look at your sword.”

“What?”

“Cool your head for a moment and look at the blade of your sword.”

Ignet had a serious expression on her face. It was also a very pious one.

When this existence, who seemed to be clothed in a cloak of dignity, was saying it, even Carl couldn’t ignore it.

It hurt his pride to listen to his opponent, but in the end, he looked at his sword, the blade shining in obsidian.

“…”

On it, he saw himself.

His reflection was on the surface of the blade that was as smooth as a mirror.

But he couldn’t see his face.

There was a mask that had unknowingly grown on his face without him even realizing it.

Looking at him, who was a bit taken aback, Ignet said.

“You are no longer Carl or Carl Lindsay… you are a demon.”

“…”

“Should I, who is a Commander of the Holy Knights of Avilius, feel favoritism towards a fallen being who lost himself?”