Ludovic looked at Aster for a moment.
Soon he snorted and shook his head.
"[I wanted to see you accidentally reveal something yourself, but how disappointing.]"
His tone was already different from Ludovic’s usual one. Even so, he had at least been trying to imitate him.
"More importantly—who are you?"
Aster studied the Ludovic before him, turning things over in his head.
Most of the Zodiacs possessed divine power, and their gods were nearly as famous as they were.
So Aster had definitely heard, at some point, which god granted Ludovic his power.
'...I can’t remember.'
Aster, who cared about nothing except his own growth, had never bothered to pay attention to anything else.
If Frondier had seen him now, he would have sighed so hard it might’ve sunk the earth.
"[You don’t know me?]"
But somehow, that reaction served as a proper provocation for Ludovic’s god.
Aster said, "Judging by the fact that you’re involved in this mess, are you one of the Olympian gods?"
"[You dare spout such cheap guesses in front of me!]"
Ludovic’s sword glowed blue. The blade carved a straight line through the air, shooting toward Aster.
Whish!
Aster leapt upward to evade it, and in that fleeting midair instant he saw Ludovic’s aura.
'...The color of the aura is the same as Ludovic’s. Well, of course it is.'
Aster still remembered the hue of Ludovic’s aura from a joint mission they’d once done together.
He’d forgotten Ludovic’s god, but remembered the color of his aura after seeing it once—proof enough of how his mind worked.
Tap.
Aster landed lightly and asked again, "So, are you planning to tell me who you are or not?"
"[Insolent wretch. Do you think possession of a mortal body gives you license for such insolence!]"
Right now, the god inside Ludovic was far from his full strength. A possessing deity couldn’t exceed the limits of the human vessel. Ludovic was formidable, yes, but nowhere near the god himself.
Aster tilted his head.
"Then if I ask politely, will you tell me?"
To him, whether he spoke formally or not hardly mattered.
A faintly sardonic smile crossed Ludovic’s face.
"[Who knows. ✧ NоvеIight ✧ (Original source) I’ll tell you after I kill you.]"
"...!"
Aster’s eyes widened in feigned shock.
He lowered his face and said evenly, "Don’t you know that the dead can’t hear, god?"
"[......]"
Ludovic froze for a beat, then scratched his head roughly.
"[To think the so-called Hope of Humanity is such an impossible idiot to talk to.]"
"It’s simply the unbridgeable gap between gods and humans."
"[You think that’s what this is about!]"
Ludovic’s sword slashed horizontally. An arc of aura shot out along its path.
Ka-aang!
Aster parried the aura and thought, This is getting troublesome.
Truthfully, he wasn’t particularly curious about which god possessed Ludovic.
If it were Frondier, he’d already be analyzing that name for possible weaknesses—but Aster’s only option was his sword.
What bothered him was the situation itself.
'If I attack Ludovic like this, the injuries will all be his burden alone.'
This fight was entirely advantageous to the god.
Under the pretext of “excluding demons,” divine faith would suffer no backlash, and even if the host were hurt or killed, it was merely the human’s misfortune, not the god’s.
And surely Ludovic wasn’t the only one possessed. The mere fact that Aster was being stalled here was already a problem.
"...Hoo."
Aster shook his head and lowered his blade.
He didn’t know what he should do. What to prioritize.
'If I’d known something like this would happen, I’d have agreed when Dierre asked me to eat with him.'
If it were Dierre, he would’ve known the best decision to make.
But this was right in front of Aster’s house.
His older sister, Elin, was busy learning to teach. He was the only one here.
'Well, that’s probably why this god came here first.'
"[Lowering your sword? Have you grown tired of life?]"
"Of course not."
Aster didn’t realize it himself, but the god inside Ludovic was slowly beginning to notice something.
This human—Aster Evans, called the Hope of Humanity—
Despite that grand title,
"I’m only doing what I can."
His polite tone made it even more infuriating.
"[Doing what you can?]"
"Yes. Sparring with you."
"[A spar? Don’t you mean a duel to the death!]"
Tat!
With aura bursting from his feet, Ludovic dashed forward like a speeding arrow. His aura flared in three streaks while his body itself became a fourth, cutting across space.
Aster—
Tok!
Flicked a pebble with aura-laden toes, knocking one aura trajectory off course,
Whoosh!
Spun to evade the second,
Tang! Ta-ang!
And simply smashed the third.
A heartbeat later, Ludovic was right in front of him.
"[Die!]"
The blade flashed, slicing toward Aster’s neck—
Swish—
But contrary to that shout, the sword veered off in a strange curve.
"That’s what I mean."
Thunk.
This time Aster pushed Ludovic back with his sword.
He’d had a perfect chance to strike a lethal blow. Yet—
"Such words don’t suit a spar."
"[......You, how.]"
Ludovic wasn’t angry at being pushed back.
He already knew Aster couldn’t wound Ludovic’s body.
But he couldn’t accept how his own attack had gone awry.
It had been a clean strike that should’ve split Aster’s face in half.
Aster hadn’t dodged. Nor had he blocked.
By elimination, he had deflected.
But how could a deflection be that calm?
'...Where have I seen something like this before...'
Even a god could recognize this technique.
Aster twirled his sword and checked its blade, murmuring,
"...So this is how it’s done?"
He wasn’t trying to hide it.
"That move called Nakjang."
"[!!]"
Ludovic’s eyes widened.
"[You—you can use Nakjang?]"
"Is it that surprising? A human technique used by a human."
Aster tilted his head.
It wasn’t perfect yet; Ludovic hadn’t dropped his sword.
But Aster was one of the few who’d experienced Nakjang firsthand. As a warrior, he couldn’t help being interested.
And after studying it, he’d learned just how advanced the technique was.
'Whether Nakjang succeeds or not is a matter for after you’ve mastered every form of defense, evasion, parry, and redirection. Only after you completely neutralize an attack can you even consider attempting it.'
Nakjang was a technique for disarming the opponent. It was often seen as an offensive move, but in truth it was a highly refined form of defense.
Aster rested his chin on one hand, thinking.
Facing Ludovic right before him.
'How in the world did Frondier pull this off in such a short time?'
When Atjie used it, Aster had been impressed, not surprised. He could guess how many years of work it must’ve taken.
But Frondier was different.
Even if he was Atjie’s younger brother, even if he learned directly from him, Frondier had succeeded at Nakjang far too quickly.
'Even if Atjie didn’t show it, he must’ve been stunned when Frondier mastered it.'
"[How dare you drift off!]"
Ludovic lunged again.
Aster raised his sword and said, "A proper spar begins with a signal."
"[You brat!]"
Clang! Ka-ang!
The clash resumed. Every strike sent sparks flying as they tried to swallow each other’s distance.
Within just a few exchanges, Ludovic realized something.
"[You dare... to do this to me!]"
"I never understand why everyone reacts the same way."
Right now Ludovic was suffering the same experience as Notker, the Shepherd of Manggot, had.
Aster was matching his opponent’s level.
Adjusting himself to the other’s skill—fighting in sync.
If the opponent was weak, he met them there. If strong, he rose to meet them.
Aster didn’t know the best option in this situation—whether he should take risks and end it quickly, abandon this fight to help others, or find a way to subdue Ludovic without harming him.
He wasn’t Frondier, nor Dierre. His judgment and calculations were only average.
So, as always when he didn’t know the answer—
He simply chose the way he knew best.
Fighting until the opponent had shown every last card.
"[Kh...!]"
Then Ludovic suddenly did something unexpected.
Tat!
"...?"
He jumped back, putting distance between them.
"Thinking of releasing your aura again? That’s fine."
Aster took a stance ready for a ranged strike.
Even so—
"[......]"
Ludovic didn’t move.
Aster’s face filled with puzzlement.
He wasn’t weighing which attack to use.
He was hesitating to attack at all.
'...Wasn’t his goal to pin me down?'
Aster couldn’t make sense of the change.
Ludovic had deliberately come for him, despite being capable of crossing the continent first. He must have considered Aster the key figure.
If Baldur’s possession of Aster succeeded, the gods would gain their strongest ally. If not, then neutralizing him quickly was the next best option.
Time was ticking, and the situation was worsening for Aster.
He had accepted that when he chose this method of fighting—to avoid wounding Ludovic, yet not lose himself.
'So even from the god’s point of view, that should be convenient.'
Aster had deliberately chosen a style that favored the god—drawing things out.
So why was the god suddenly unnerved?
"[No... this can’t be...]"
Aster silently watched Ludovic muttering incomprehensibly.
"...Hm?"
And then he felt it.
It was faint, but Aster’s senses didn’t miss it.
"You’ve gotten weaker. Your aura."
"[...!]"
Ludovic’s face twisted visibly.
"..."
Aster lifted his gaze, thinking carefully. Ludovic’s aura had weakened, and judging by his reaction, it wasn’t intentional.
He replayed the moments of their clash—the distance, the expressions, the subtle decline in divine strength. He traced the cause and searched for the link, and—
...He couldn’t figure it out.
"Ah."
But then something else came to mind.
"Right, I remember now. Apollo."
Aster nodded.
"You’re Apollo, aren’t you?"
Even after discovering the truth, his infuriatingly calm tone didn’t change.
He genuinely thought he was being polite.
"Weren’t you the ‘God of Truth’?"
That plain expression and flat delivery somehow made it even more aggravating.
"For a god of truth, you’re hiding quite a lot. Or did you just forget your domain because you’re handling too many at once?"
"[Aster! Do you not even know the meaning of blasphemy!]"
"..."
Aster’s mildly puzzled face reached its peak.
"I do. But why bring it up now?"
