Chapter 9:Isn't this too unfair?
Luke stared intently at Kael.
He'd dealt with plenty of people like this before.
From his build, the man looked like he'd done some training, but he didn't look like someone who had spent years honing his swordsmanship.
The outcome was decided before it even began.
The result was already mapped out in his head. And so, there was no tension, nothing.
Luke just wanted to end this tedious fight as quickly as possible.
"Ah, just fighting straight up is boring—how about we make a bet?"
"……A bet?"
Luke's brow furrowed. A bet, out of nowhere?
"How about this? The loser becomes a dog. One that listens to its master."
Kael said, twisting the corner of his mouth into a smirk. It was a low-level provocation, but the effect was unmistakable.
A cold smile crept onto Luke's lips.
"……Don't go back on your word later."
"That's exactly what I wanted to say."
"Phew."
Luke let out a small sigh and placed his hand on the hilt of his sword.
At that exact moment.
Luke's figure vanished from sight.
Kael's eyes went wide.
His hair stood on end, and a chilling sensation crept across the back of his neck.
Kael's body moved on reflex. He lunged forward and spun around at the same time.
Whoosh.
Luke's sword cut through empty air.
If his reaction had been even a moment slower, his head would have been taken clean off.
A shiver ran through him, cold to the bone.
And at the same time, irritation surged.
‘No, what the hell is this crazy bastard doing. I nearly left this world behind.’
[Hmph, when did you have the nerve to be arrogant, and now you plan to rely on me? If you can't even dodge something that pathetic, dying cleanly isn't the worst option.]
‘Ah, is that so? Then how about you try spending about a week inside a latrine? If you can't dodge a latrine, I think the world would be better off with you melted down and used as a candlestick.’
[Kraaaaaagh! Fine! Fine!!]
Balmung threw a fit.
Well, yeah. Who told him to pick a fight in the first place?
"Hmm, I didn't expect you to dodge that."
Luke tilted his head slightly to one side.
An expressionless face.
Even from his expression alone, it was clear he didn't see Kael as a threat.
‘……Oh, really?’
Just as irritation was beginning to bubble up, Balmung's voice cut straight into his ear.
[Draw.]
Kael placed his hand on Balmung.
At that same instant, Luke's figure vanished from sight once again.
But this time, his body moved before his mind could even process it.
[Hmph, what a pathetic wretch. You don't know anything beyond petty tricks.]
With a sullen snort, Balmung was drawn from its sheath.
It wasn't an intentional movement. It was as though someone had seized control of his body and was pulling the strings.
A truly strange experience.
Kael had been a professional athlete in a past life. One who had been called a ‘genius’, no less.
That was precisely why he understood just how extraordinary this moment was.
The movement of muscle, the rhythm of breath, the direction of his gaze, the angle of his wrist, the arc of the blade.
He hadn't become someone else. The movements being made right now were, without question, coming from Kael's own body. The problem, if there was one, was that every motion was executed with extreme efficiency—pushing his physical capabilities to their absolute limit.
The limits of the flesh.
Balmung was now drawing from Kael's latent potential to such a degree that his entire body screamed.
In that split second.
A bolt of lightning struck through Kael's mind.
At the same moment, 2 thin lines of light clashed in midair.
Balmung and Luke's sword had collided.
Bang!
A stinging pain shot through his grip with enough force to make it go numb. Luke's eyes tore wide open.
A metallic shriek that threatened to split the ears.
Luke's sword, snapped in 2. The broken blade buried itself into the ground.
A tremor ran up his spine.
Just 2 exchanges.
The fight was decided in 2 exchanges.
The more ignorant a man is, the narrower his vision.
When he'd faced that monster called ‘Harkan’ before, he hadn't felt anything like this.
There had been no exhilaration—just constant screaming from the pain.
Like how even the most precious gem is nothing but a chunk of rock to eyes that cannot see its worth.
But now was different.
It was still as distant and hazy as before, yet he could make it out, however faintly.
But one couldn't stay lost in sentiment forever.
The mind that had been soaked like waterlogged cotton began to sharpen once more.
‘……What on earth.’
He could see Luke down on one knee.
The man couldn't hide his shock. Luke, staring up at Kael with eyes filled with disbelief—
"Hack!"
Coughed up blood. And quite a lot of it.
Luke bled as he looked up at Kael. In a trembling voice, he opened his mouth.
"You…… Just what are you……"
Luke, mid-sentence, suddenly collapsed and lost consciousness entirely.
‘……Wait, he didn't just die, did he?’
In an instant, that anxiety washed over him.
A short while later, after confirming that Luke's life wasn't in danger, Kael exhaled a long breath of relief.
"……You idiot, you scared me."
Anyone would have their heart drop at the sight of someone suddenly coughing up blood and collapsing like that.
‘……What a twist.’
The man who had looked every bit the drunkard—the moment Luke placed his hand on his hilt, his figure had vanished completely from sight.
In that moment, he truly felt a chill run down his spine. Even so, thanks to Balmung's help, he had ultimately managed to subdue Luke.
‘Good thing I didn't pass out this time.’
He'd nearly gone down right alongside Luke.
When he'd taken down that Harkan before, he'd lost consciousness immediately after as well.
‘The results of training, maybe.’
In truth, Kael had done a dry run midway through the journey to Nox. He had tempered his body and swung his sword, following Balmung's instructions.
‘A man must live on his own.’
He had come to understand that fully after being cast aside by the Empire.
Pretty words were all talk—in the end, no one protected anyone else.
He had to protect himself. If he didn't want to die a meaningless death, he had to build strength, whatever it took.
This, too, was the fruit of that. Somehow, he had managed to avoid passing out, hadn't he?
Of course, given how short the training period had been, he was far from fine.
His entire body screamed. Beyond simple muscle soreness—the kind of sensation that made him think, ‘this is a bit much’.
But the result wasn't bad. In exchange for his suffering, he had earned himself an outstanding subordinate. All things considered, it was a net gain.
Looking down at the unconscious Luke, a feeling of quiet satisfaction rose naturally within him.
"Time to honor that promise, isn't it?"
Kael hoisted Luke over his shoulder like a sack of goods. His body screamed with every step, but he gritted his teeth and endured it.
With so many eyes watching, there was no way he could let out a groan.
A crowd had gathered around him. They stared at Kael with expressions of utter disbelief.
"Make way."
When Kael, face scrunched from holding back the pain, spoke—
Swoooosh.
The crowd parted like the Red Sea.
In Nox, where strength was power—
The moment he took down Luke, Kael had gained that power.
"Seriously."
Kael let out a dry chuckle and trudged forward through the parted path.
* * *
Tommy and Jack, left behind at the security station.
The so-called Big Rat and Little Rat were in the middle of a heated discussion.
The subject of said discussion was, of course, Kael.
"……Do you think it's true?"
"What is?"
"That guy said it himself. That he was going out to bring back Lieutenant Luke."
"Come on, does that even make sense? Lieutenant Luke is on a completely different level. His caliber alone is just different. That guy—well, okay, I'll admit he looks like he can fight a little—but even a whole mob of guys like him wouldn't even be worth a single swing from Lieutenant Luke……"
"A single swing?"
Flinch.
Jack's body jolted mid-ramble.
A voice his body knew all too well.
Fear came crashing in.
Jack glanced sideways.
‘……That traitorous little rat.’
Tommy, whose instincts were sharp despite his size, had already slipped far to the side.
Jack trembled with the bitter sting of betrayal and shot Tommy a glare, but there was nothing else he could do.
Thud. Thud.
The sound of footsteps drew closer and closer.
Jack, shaking like a leaf with fear, decided to simply throw himself flat on the ground.
"C-Commander! Everything I just said was a misunderstanding—"
"Shut it, and take care of this guy."
"……Pardon?"
Kael swung Luke down from his shoulder without ceremony, and a startled Jack scrambled frantically to catch him.
"L-Luke! H-how did this……"
Jack's pupils shook violently. Just what in the world was happening?
"I told you. I was going out to sort out the hierarchy."
"S-surely you weren't the one who did this to Lieutenant Luke……"
Jack's mouth gaped open and shut in shock.
Kael had done this to Luke?
It was difficult to believe, but the sight of Luke collapsed and unconscious right before his eyes was more proof than any words could offer.
"By the way, I hear you were having quite the spirited conversation about me behind my back while I was gone."
The corner of Kael's mouth slowly curled upward.
At that spine-chilling expression, the color drained from Jack's face.
"T-there seems to be a bit of a misunderstanding."
"Bullshit."
"Kgh—graaaagh!"
Kael had no intention of hearing him out.
A merciless barrage of kicks began at once.
Thud! Thud! Thud!
Jack screamed under the relentless assault, and whether from the commotion or something else, Luke's eyelids began to flutter.
Luke pushed himself upright, expression twisted in a grimace. A considerable amount of pain greeted him the moment he moved.
"Sleep well?"
Kael looked down at Luke with a taunting smirk.
The sight of that face brought his memories flooding back.
‘……I lost?’
The outcome had been decided in the blink of an eye.
The moment the fight began, Luke had gotten behind Kael. It hadn't been difficult at all. Back then, Luke had thought—is this really all the ability someone could have and still act so bold?
Kael had dodged the first strike, yes, but Luke had written it off as pure luck. The fact that he hadn't even attempted a counterattack was proof of that, he'd thought.
But that had been a miscalculation. The moment Kael drew his sword, the atmosphere shifted entirely.
It was as though an entirely different person had taken his place.
Every hair on his body stood on end as a sense of crisis bore down on him.
An instant.
Quite literally the span of a single blink.
A faint, thin line was drawn through the air.
A single sword strike.
In that moment, Luke felt as though his breath had stopped.
Because the ‘ideal sword' he had endlessly dreamed of and yearned for—the one he had only ever envisioned in his mind—had just been traced out in a perfect arc, right before his very eyes.
In that moment, he forgot everything—the fight, victory, all of it.
He had simply been entranced by that sword, like a child who had seen something wondrous for the first time.
When the 2 swords met, Luke's blade snapped. The difference in level was so clear that the breaking of his sword had been an inevitable outcome from the start.
His memory after that was hazy. His mind was foggy, as if he were drunk, and he was short of breath.
He felt a fierce thirst. His throat burned.
‘He wanted to see it again.’
Even just once more—he wanted to see that sword. If he could see that sword again, he would pay any price.
A fierce longing welled up and consumed his thoughts entirely. Anyone who walked the path of the sword would feel the same.
There was so much he wanted to say, but his thoughts were tangled like a ball of thread and wouldn't come out of his mouth.
After that, he had lost consciousness.
Luke stared blankly at his own hands.
Hands reduced to rags.
Dried blood was crusted thick over the stripped skin.
A throbbing ache came with it. Looking at the ruined state of his hands, the memories from moments ago came surging back.
Luke clenched his fist tight and turned his head.
A young man standing with his arms crossed and weight shifted to one leg, watching him.
Someone who looked every bit the delinquent—and yet this man could wield a sword like that.
It was so absurd that a hollow laugh escaped him.
He had witnessed it with his own 2 eyes, and still found it this hard to believe. If he had heard it secondhand, he wouldn't have even bothered scoffing.
"Your eyes are looking a bit shifty. Forgotten our bet? Have you?"
"……"
Luke's brow creased.
That rough, careless way of speaking—there wasn't a shred of dignity to be found in it.
‘……How unfair.’
To think that someone this young, with a character this flippant, could wield a sword of that caliber.
Isn't this too unfair?
Luke had always despised envy and jealousy directed at others.
But this time—this time, he couldn't help but feel exactly that.