“Ah, the weather is nice.”
It wasn't just the weather which was good. Kirill Pareira looked down from above and seemed to be in a good mood.
Her brother was back. That too in a very short period of one week.
Of course, there was Lulu who kept saying it wouldn't take five years, but she thought her brother would be stuck in there at least for a few months.
Of course, the problem was that the barrier wasn’t entirely his own, but was part of a devil’s too…
‘What more? The devil, which he defeated twice.’
Right.
According to Lulu, the devil was so great that all the paladins of the Holy Kingdom came. However, her brother defeated such a devil, twice. And this time, it was all by himself.
Kirill turned and looked at Airn. The image of him immersed in meditation with a calm face felt so reliable to her.
“Lulu, isn’t my brother so cool?”
“Huh! Airn is always cool!”
She smiled and stroked Lulu’s head. And then unfolded a map to check where they should head to.
There was not much distance that was left. They would soon arrive at their destination.
A house, which was built on a wide field, came into their eyes. In front of it, they saw two people wielding their swords.
‘I finally get to see him.’
One of the strongest men on the continent, Khun.
And Judith, the first disciple he had accepted and one of her brother’s closest friends.
It was the second person who drew Kirill’s attention more, and it was because of the sweet, fresh, and innocent romance that the woman had.
When she was young, she didn’t know much and kept practicing sorcery to protect and take care of her brother.
However, as she got older and was old enough to know stuff, Kirill too started to get interested in the opposite sex little by little.
And for her, Judith, who achieved love despite the restrictions of her teacher, seemed like a very cool person.
What kind of person would she be?
What kind of woman could she be if she had grasped the heart of a high-ranking noble and made him more passionate for romance?
It was when those kinds of thoughts had popped into Kirill’s head.
“Airn! I will kill you!”
Flinch.
Lulu, who was moving on the griffin, stopped. And looked at Airn and then at Kirill.
She hadn’t heard it wrong. Both the humans were looking below them, startled at what they heard.
The one Lulu focused on more was Kirill.
‘…. This is bad!’
A cold face.
She could feel the raging emotions in Kirill’s eyes. She knew that this anger was directed at the one who had yelled this,
“Hey, Kirill…”
“Be quiet.”
“…”
And she heard that, Lulu went silent.
Airn held the cat warmly in his arms and tried to calm his sister down.
“K-Kirill? So, I don’t know what is happening, but Judith…”
“It is fine, brother. I am just acting like usual; I am not that kind of a person anymore.”
Airn couldn’t say much after that.
Kirill, who controlled her emotions, then said in a cold manner.
“I just want to know the reason why my brother was cursed.”
“…”
Airn scratched his chin. He couldn’t think of any excuses.
He knew Judith, but he couldn’t think of any reason for why she had cursed him. All he knew was that it wasn’t said with any bad intention.
It was a situation where those who didn’t know Judith could misunderstand the events completely.
In the end, he couldn’t say anything until the griffin landed.
Immediately after, they all landed on the ground.
And then…
“Airn! You bastard!”
Phut!
Seeing Judith rushing in with a bright smile, the three of them were shocked.
‘What is with her?’
The most shocked person was Kirill.
Airn and Lulu were familiar with Judith, but not Kirill.
She did hear about her, but she never thought that she was someone who would pull out a sword and run at someone she had just met.
What was even more disconcerting was.
Kang!
‘… I can’t interfere!’
Even when Judith’s sword collided with her brother’s, she had to restrain her desire to take down that woman.
Kirill gulped. The red-haired woman didn’t even look at Kirill and kept her eyes on Airn.
Yet, she felt afraid, scared.
The moment she faced that terrifying aura around her, the sorcerer who had feared nothing in the world, took a step back.
Bang!
Kwang!
Kwakwang!
Judith didn’t care about anything and only looked at AIrn.
She could see her best friend and the one she wanted to defeat the most, exuding a golden energy.
She wanted to beat him.
She wanted to win over him.
And that was all; she just wanted to win against the one who she thought was the best!
Her immense fighting spirit and her desire to win ignited her heart once more. The fire gave her exhausted body new strength and created an intense aura.
And without knowing it, Judith swung her sword.
Kwaang!
Surprisingly, these were the most satisfying strikes she had done all day. The speed was good, the power was great, so she was convinced that these were the best she had done the entire day.
Judith’s current pace was not bad at all, and even Khun, who was picky, nodded in approval.
But, she wasn’t satisfied.
She couldn’t be satisfied with just this.
Exhaling a fiery breath, Khun’s disciple looked at Ian's disciple. She looked into his relaxed eyes.
And she got annoyed.
She was so angry that she couldn’t stand it.
Right now, she was doing her best. No, she was now doing even better than when she was at her best…
‘The gap has widened so much that even his breathing isn’t being shaken.’
It was a cold and cruel reality.
Seeing her friend who didn’t even use his aura sword, Judith gulped. Even if Airn had only panted, she would have felt glad.
She was angry at what had happened. But she didn’t want to waste such emotions.
She wanted to embrace it and carry it with her so it could make her stronger.
Her anger was flaring up.
Judith, who was deeply immersed in her feelings, moved.
Phat!
She moved in a straight line.
There was nothing special about it; it was nothing compared to her first strike either.
It was a movement so simple that the opponent would feel confused at the simplicity.
But.
“…”
Not Airn.
He couldn't help it because Judith was nowhere to be seen.
Although she was not as big as his body, she still had a large body for a woman, and yet she had disappeared.
And her body had been replaced with a sword.
The only thing that could be seen was the reddish sword which felt enlarged, coming at him.
The slashing sword represented Judith better than anything else.
And it was more powerful than ever!
“Hmm!”
Woong!
As soon as that thought crossed his mind, Airn drew out the Aura Sword and swung it.
His muscular strength, his aura, and even the strength of his mind were pulled out, and the best move he could make in that situation was performed.
Clang!
The golden sword and red sword collided.
Immediately after, the red sword that couldn’t stand it bounced back. And Judith, who wasn’t seen until then, appeared there.
She tumbled and flew off far away. The impact was so great that, if she had been a normal person, she would’ve died a dozen times over, but Judith resisted, and she never let go of her sword even then.
Of course, that didn’t mean that she was entirely safe.
Shocked at what he did, Airn thought.
‘Shit, I overdid it!’
Even though the match had started out of nowhere, his movements throughout the duel had been relaxed.
It was unavoidable. After the Land of Proof, the gap between the two had turned wide as the sky and earth.
No matter how talented Judith was, she was still an Expert, and she would fall short of Airn, who even Quincy Myers had acknowledged.
It was similar to comparing it to a fight between an adult and a child.
But…
'The last blow was like an exploding firework.'
Right.
He looked at the weapon raging in, and didn’t have a choice but to be wary of it.
And what Judith was holding wasn’t just a sword, but rather, he felt like it had been flame itself.
It was burning so intensely, that he couldn’t even see her figure. And that made it so frightening that Airn's body went still at that instant.
‘Now isn’t the time to think about it!’
Airn stopped thinking, and although that shocking blow still lingered on his mind, right now, Judith’s condition was more important.
He hardened his expression and ran towards Judith.
No, he was about to run; however, Judith's teacher, Khun, blocked them.
He said.
“It is fine. Don’t worry.”
“But…”
“Do you think I would have such a feeble bastard as a disciple? She is fine. It might have hurt a little, but it’ll be fine.”
“…”
“But it is quite pitiful, so maybe a recovery potion has to be applied? It might hurt otherwise.”
“… thank you.”
“What for? Rather, I am grateful to you.”
Khun laughed.
His words were sincere.
He remembered the battle he watched just now. The training he had made just for Judith.
At the same time, he thought that the outcome of the battle was good. Especially that quick sword that she used.
If Judith could maximize what she discovered today, new chances would definitely open for her.
‘Even though not all the aspects were perfect, if just her strength was honed to the limit then…’
Thinking that, Khun smiled and said.
“Airn Pareira, do you still have strength left? Pick up your sword.”
“… yes.”
Woon!
A force that surged like an explosion. And in front of a great swordsman, who was completely different from his teacher Ian, Airn raised his sword.
‘Today, I have a lot to gain.’
On his face, just like Khun, there was a smile that couldn’t be hidden.
