Following Lucy Arln, Arthur arrived at the place where the Patran Duke’s family members were gathered.
Though it was certain that the war had ended, the Patran mages were still holding their ground.
Arthur looked at them, their eyes blazing as if preparing for another war, and he felt a sense of doubt rising within him.
Why are they acting this way? What’s lurking that makes them look at the forest with such eager eyes?
Indeed. The Fairy Queen has made an interesting deal. ‘Explain it clearly.’
Speak politely. Then I’ll gladly explain.
As Soladin’s fragment stretched its shoulders after catching a small piece of the conversation, Arthur ignored it and moved forward.
“This is it. Can you smell the loser scent from far away?”
At the entrance of the tent, Arthur felt a creeping sense of fear as he clutched his legs.
A resentful voice drilling into his ears. The feeling of disdain touching his skin despite knowing no one was watching. The words of ‘it would have been better to die together,’ mixed with the sound of raindrops. And then...
“Ugh?!”
Arthur doubled over, clutching his stomach after a strike aimed directly at his solar plexus. He staggered backward, frowning, and lifted his head.
He had expected another harsh word from Lucy Arln, but she had already turned her back and was walking towards the tent.
“You’ve come. I was waiting...”
“The pathetic loser thinks he’s gained strength, now he’s strutting around. How pathetic ♡ Did you want to boast that badly? ♡”
“What suddenly...”
“Heh, heh, heh ♡ If you’re like this now, just wait until your sympathy is removed ♡ Want me to tell you beforehand? ♡ So I can point out how much of a loser you really are! ♡”
Lucy's sudden rebuke caught Erginus off guard, but when he saw Arthur behind the entrance, he let out a laugh.
“Oh, dear. My apologies. It wasn’t intentional. I was just clumsy after recently gaining a bit of status.”
Erginus lowered his head, and as he did, something that had been clinging to Arthur’s body vanished. Arthur let out a sigh of relief and wiped the cold sweat from his brow.
It’s the power of darkness. It likely invaded your body easily because of what happened before. ‘Are you referring to the nightmare from yesterday?’
The fact that you endured it is impressive. If you were an average person, you’d already have lost your sanity. Maybe some of the blessings granted to you...
Soladin's fragment, one of the mythological figures, spoke with weight, but Arthur couldn’t purely accept the compliment.
By that logic, what about Lucy Arln right in front of him? Why is that kid, who bravely faced the Dark God more than anyone else, still fine?
Is it because she’s the Apostle of the God? No. It’s the opposite. She must have been chosen because she can stand proudly before Erginus, who has attained divinity.
“Prince Soladin, I’ve committed a rudeness. Please forgive me.”
Erginus had come up to Arthur and lowered his head.
“No... It’s fine. Thanks to Lucy Arln handling it beforehand, there were no problems.”
“Thank you for your mercy.”
Arthur could see the darkness swirling around Erginus. To start as a human and succeed in attaining godhood—it’s a story that could only be told in myth.
Now that he thought about it, the great wizard in front of him was a figure from mythology, so it wasn’t that strange.
“The reason I called you here is related to the fragment that follows you.”
“I’ve heard about it. What significance can a piece that only babbles on have?”
“There are many meanings that you are unaware of at the moment, but I also want to add one more meaning to it as a reward for this task.”
When Erginus reached out, the fragment seemed to try and flee, but no matter how it struggled, it didn’t move from the air.
“Do you know anything about spirit magic?”
“I’ve seen it in fairy tales. But why ask about that all of a sudden?”
“I’m thinking of making this one capable of doing something similar. While I’m at it, I’ll fix some old parts too.”
Wait a moment, please. Erginus. This one hasn’t passed through the official trials. Such excessive authority should not be granted. “Too many words.”
After Erginus finished his work, he took the fragment and left, and Arthur, who had been watching from afar, thought he should have asked for it to be made more polite, but he sighed with regret.
Freya, who had been rejected by Lucy for a sparring match, secretly infiltrated the Fairy Forest to meet the Sword Saint, trying to escape the eyes of others.
She didn’t even know if the Sword Saint was really inside, and even if she was, there was no way to find her, especially since Freya didn’t know the way through the forest. But Freya didn’t think much of that.
After all, she wasn’t someone who acted based on careful thought.
Fortunately, the fairies of the forest remembered Freya, who had wielded a sword to save them yesterday.
The Sword Saint?
That scary woman?
I know! She’s in there!
Follow me!
The fairies, who liked to joke but weren’t ungrateful, willingly agreed to help Freya.
“How did you get in?”
“Easily.”
The Sword Saint, whom Freya met again, was swinging her sword in an open area. Something seemed to have irritated her, as her swings were fiercer than usual, even more so than Freya’s usual strikes.
“So, why are you here?”
“‘Chaak!’ How do you do that?”
“‘Chaak?’ Ah, you mean the sword that cuts through the darkness.”
Most people, including Freya’s friends and even her father, would have questioned what she was saying, but the Sword Saint, Yuden, understood Freya’s words immediately.
Perhaps it was because their swordsmanship was similar, or because their skill levels were comparable, but Freya felt excited that her words had been understood.
“That was amazing. I want to do it too.”
“Wanting to isn’t enough. To be precise, it’s an act of using magic with a sword.”
It may seem easy because I made it look effortless, but it’s not as simple as it looks, Yuden rambled on, but Freya wasn’t listening anymore.
Using magic with a sword.
Hmm. Magic.
That’s the stuff those idiots, Joy and the useless prince, use.
Just swirl the magic with mana, right?
With a sword?
Tilting her head, Freya tried drawing the most impressive magic circle she remembered with her sword, but failed to achieve what she wanted.
“It doesn’t work?”
“Of course it doesn’t. Magic is a metaphor. A metaphor. Don’t you know what that is?”
“I know. You’re calling me like an old lady.”
“That’s not a metaphor!”
“No? Hmm. Then what’s a metaphor?”
Freya’s innocent question made Yuden slap her forehead.
In a way, this kid is worse than Lucy Arln. Without malice, she probes others’ weaknesses, and you can’t even get mad at her. Damn it.
“You’re too stupid to understand, so I’ll explain it my way.”
“Okay! I’m stupid! Please explain it!”
“...Sigh.”
I’ve felt it before when playing around with this kid, but there’s no way to win an argument with her. I’ll just give a quick explanation and move on. She’ll figure it out eventually.
“Watch. When you swing your sword and make a ‘chaak’ sound, it’s cutting through the air.”
Yuden lightly swung her sword, and the air was split, producing a sharp sound that echoed across the open space.
“You narrow the range of that cut to the extreme.”
“Narrow? Why? The way you did it was much wider.”
“I don’t know exactly. When I showed it to that bastard Luca, what did he say? Something about focused intent touching the phenomenon? Anyway, narrow it. That’s how I did it.”
The source of this c𝐨ntent is freeweɓnovēl.coɱ.
Narrow. Recalling what Yuden had said, Freya frowned but then nodded.
Hmm. Maybe this is the feel of it. “Swoosh.” Freya’s sword made a loud and ferocious sound as it cut through the air.
On the surface, it looked no different from any other swing, but Yuden could tell it was different. She really got the hang of it with that explanation?
“You can do a bit more, I think.”
“Swoosh.”
“Swoosh.”
“Swoosh.”
With every swing of her sword, the sound grew fainter.
The screams that had once echoed with the slash faded away.
Admiring the sight, Yuden was horrified when she saw the sound begin to disappear completely and quickly raised her sword.
That thoughtless kid! If she swings that toward the forest, what’s going to happen?! The forest that’s barely grown will be wrecked!
Silence met silence. Intent met intent. The resolve to cut what’s before them shouted that their intent was larger.
The clash of intentions, though no sword touched, dispersed into the world with a faint sound.
“Hmm. This isn’t it. Something’s different.”
“Hey! Be careful! If it weren’t for me, the forest would’ve been chopped up!”
“Isn’t it fine since it didn’t get chopped?”
“That’s not the point! Ahhh! Seriously!”
“Don’t get so angry, Sword Saint. You’ll get wrinkles.”
Yuden, red-faced from frustration, was ignored by Freya, who casually ignored her and tried again to swing her sword toward the sky.
[The God of Martial Arts looks upon you.]
The blue spear that appeared before her was something any warrior on earth would desire, but not Freya. She easily swept it away with a flick of her hand.
[The God of Martial Arts...] “Go away.” [Martial...] “Must avoid.” [Mu...] “Forget it. I’ll ignore it.”
[The God of Martial Arts hopes to face your friend.]
...Huh? My friend? Why is it telling me? Shouldn’t it just go and talk to them?
If the God of Martial Arts is speaking, anyone would welcome it...
Ah. Not Freya. If it’s that kid, she wouldn’t even read the message.
Normally, I wouldn’t help anyone for free, but since I owe the God of Martial Arts...
I’ll make an exception this time.
Next time, please make sure to request with a reward. Otherwise, I’ll return it.
“Useless Prince, do you know what the idiot swordsman is up to now?”
“I don’t know. I haven’t seen that bastard today.”
“Tsk. So useless.”
“I haven’t seen him, so what?”
Ignoring Arthur’s irritation, Freya crossed her arms. Hmm. If that fool were to go anywhere...
He’s in the forest!
The others guided him!
He’s with the scary woman!
Turning her gaze toward the fairies, Freya immediately received a response.
If it’s the scary woman, that must be the Sword Saint.
Fine. Let’s go back into the forest. Opportunities to gain favor with a deity don’t come often!
Having regained some strength, Freya filled with enthusiasm and turned her body, only to freeze when she spotted someone walking toward her from afar.
Oh? Why is the busy First Prince here?
Could it be that the First Queen called him because of spirit magic?
Then, I’ll just pretend I don’t know and sneak away...
<He’s coming towards you.>
‘Why is the First Prince coming to me?! He hates me!’
<I don’t know either.>
Hearing her grandfather’s words, Freya turned in shock and saw the First Prince and his guards approaching.
What?! Is this for real?! Why is he coming to me?!
Is he here for revenge for what happened in the Dungeon City?!
Tch! Fine! Bring it on! If I get hurt, my people won’t just stand by!
Straightening her back, trying to act confidently, Freya faced the First Prince, and inside, she broke into a cold sweat.
“Brother. What brings you here?”
“I have business to attend to. Little sister.”
“Is it related to Lucy Arln?”
“Yes.”
What? What is it?! Hurry up and tell me! Stop making me nervous with your cryptic words!
“It’s been a long time, Lady Arln. The divine grace of the Goddess grows stronger with each passing day, doesn’t it?”
...
What is this? Has he been cursed by some strange spell?
Purification!
“The pure divine radiance is pleasant, but why me?”
Isn’t this a curse?!
Why?!