Chapter 180. Swordsmanship Festival (7)

“…”

Cecilia greeted him with a fierce smile.

Harang stared at her for a moment.

What was my relationship with Cecilia like?

He couldn’t quite recall.

Though he’d spent over half his life in the village, those memories already felt like distant nostalgia.

If there was one thing he was sure of, it was that they probably weren’t on good terms.

And for good reason.

Every day in the village was an endless competition. Even if they didn’t know at first, by the time five years had passed, everyone understood. If you didn’t kill your peers, you’d be the one to die. To survive, you had to trample over them.

In that environment, being on good terms would be strange in itself.

Yes.

It wasn’t just Cecilia. Harang hadn’t been on good terms with Hagio, Gael, Maya, or any of his peers.

But what about now?

He’d become friends with Hagio, someone he thought he’d never exchange a word with.

With Gael, they now sparred freely without intent to harm.

Maya… their relationship was still similar, but aside from her, Harang was confident he could become friends with other Godok anytime.

Why?

Because they weren’t born as Godok.

Though the village’s oppressive environment forced them to harm each other, he had realized outside the village that their true natures weren’t evil.

Yes, it’s clear. Even the ones I met near Viscount Kilkearn’s territory were like that. They were wary at first but eventually listened to me, accepted me, and prepared to live their own lives.

It was the same for Cecilia and Werner, the twin Godok.

He still remembered the smiles they showed at the end. Not the bloodthirsty grins of slaughter addicts, but the fresh, vibrant smiles of 20-somethings.

Yes, that’s how it was.

It definitely was, but…

“…What happened to you in the meantime?”

Harang asked.

He couldn’t help but ask.

It wasn’t just because of what she did to Hilus. Cecilia’s state was clearly abnormal to anyone who saw her.

A feeling of being steeped in gloom.

As if she’d fallen into an abyss from which she could never escape, radiating dark emotions. This wasn’t an aura that could exist without something major happening.

The absence of her twin brother Werner added to Harang’s concern. Even in the village, they were never apart, closer than most siblings in the outside world.

“Since when did you care so much about others, Harang?”

“…”

“Isn’t that right? In the village, we were both monsters who killed people. In a relationship like ours, you’d think you’d be most curious about how I got so strong. That’s unexpected.”

“…Getting stronger is natural. In a world much wider than the village, you must’ve had far more diverse experiences.”

“Really? You could see it that way. Hmm… But I didn’t find much difference.”

“What?”

“The outside world or the village—it’s all the same to me. Since you seem to think differently, you must’ve had some fun out there?”

“…”

“So, how about it? The skills you built from those fancy outside experiences… can I take a look? It’d take too long to face you in the tournament. You saw the bracket, right? We’d have to reach the finals to meet. So… what do you say? Want to test our skills now?”

Hummmmm-!

“Crazy! She’s using an aura sword!”

“Not in the arena! Drawing a sword out here!”

“Guards! Shouldn’t we call the guards?”

“Guards won’t cut it! She’s a Graduate! We need to get the Seton Swordsmanship Hall’s swordsmen…”

“Hey, you! Run to the swordsmanship hall! Tell them tournament participants are starting a fight!”

A passerby spotted Cecilia suddenly drawing her sword and manifesting an aura. Hearing his scream, another person ran to inform the Seton Swordsmanship Hall.

Cecilia wasn’t one to stand idly by.

Pulling a hidden weapon from her bosom, she swiftly threw it at the back of the fleeing person’s head.

Swishhh-!

Thud!

But Cecilia couldn’t succeed.

Harang, moving swiftly, caught the hidden weapon with his bare hand.

Frowning slightly, she looked at Harang and said.

“What’s that?”

“What’s that? That’s what I want to ask. What are you doing?”

“It’s troublesome. If we’re about to have a fight, interruptions are a problem.”

“So you’d kill someone for that?”

“Hah! Did you just say that, Harang? Asking if I’d kill someone? You, to me?”

“…”

“You’ve changed. Really changed a lot. You, who climbed over countless peers’ corpses, now hesitate to kill even one person? What happened to you?”

“…That’s what I want to ask.”

Harang let out a deep sigh.

It definitely wasn’t like this.

The Cecilia he met outside the village… had clearly been ready to move on from the past. He recalled the moment they parted.

Her gaze, her expression, her tone.

The stark contrast between that and her current demeanor made Harang certain something had gone wrong with her.

…Or maybe something happened to Werner.

With that thought, Harang closed his eyes.

Blocking his vision in front of an unpredictable opponent was risky, but he wanted to show something even at that cost.

His emotions.

Taking a deep breath, he infused his aura with his heart.

Regret.

Sadness.

Care.

Trust.

And other honest feelings, emotions, and sensations he would never have shown in the village.

Revealing them unfiltered to Cecilia, Harang slowly spoke.

“Cecilia, if you need help, tell me.”

“…”

“Tell me what happened to you, what happened to Werner. If you just speak, there are plenty of people who’ll help you. Me, Hagio, Gael… We’re no longer Godok.”

“…No longer Godok?”

“Yes. We’re not Godok anymore. We’re individuals living by our own will, not the village’s. We’re no longer… beings who live each day to harm each other like before.”

“…”

“And that applies to you too, Cecilia.”

Harang opened his eyes sharply.

Cecilia’s figure filled his vision.

Neither smiling nor crying.

As if wearing a mask, yet with a hint of a twisted expression beneath, her emotions faintly leaked through her aura sword.

…But that was it.

Hiss-!

In an instant, Cecilia sheathed her aura sword and emotions.

One second, two seconds, three seconds.

After a brief moment that felt like hours, her sharp gaze accompanied a venomous remark.

“Don’t casually say you’ll help someone. With your skills, you’re far from capable.”

“…”

“You know it, don’t you? No matter how strong you’ve gotten… you’re nothing compared to the real powerhouses. Even if the village’s general manager showed up, we’d all be like flies. What gives you the confidence to talk about helping me?”

“…”

“Got anything to say?”

Cecilia asked.

Harang couldn’t answer.

It was true. He opened his mouth to say something, but no words came out.

Snicker.

Cecilia smirked, watching him.

With that, she vanished into the darkness of an alley.

“…”

Even after Cecilia left, Harang lingered in place for a long time. Even when the Seton Swordsmanship Hall’s swordsmen arrived to ask questions, he seemed lost in a daze.

“With your skills, you’re far from capable.”

Cecilia’s sharp voice echoed in his ears.

Words he couldn’t yet refute.

Thinking of the beings he had to surpass to achieve true freedom, Harang gave a bitter smile and muttered.

“Interesting.”

What was the emotion he was feeling now?

Anger?

Self-loathing?

Irritation?

None of those.

Harang kept pondering to find a more precise term, but…

“Whatever.”

He gave up.

Quickly heading to the private training ground assigned to participants, he manifested his aura.

Hummmmm-!

A silver-white glow burst forth more intensely than ever.

Oddly, to Harang’s eyes, it briefly appeared blood-red.

“I need to work harder.”

Whoosh-!

WHOOSH!

WHOOOOSH-!

Resuming his recently stalled training, Harang thought.

He needed to grow faster.

***

A day passed, and the second day of the Seton Swordsmanship Festival began.

Perhaps due to the shocking rumors from the first day, crowds swarmed even the magic screens outside the arena, hoping to see another upset like Hilus' defeat and the birth of a dark horse.

But why are dark horses called dark horses?

Why are underdog upsets called upsets?

The thrilling moments people hoped for didn’t come easily, and soon, the final match of the second day began.

“He’s done for.”

“Done for? What do you mean? Haven’t you heard the rumors about Harang? He’s the talent recognized by the head of the Seton Swordsmanship Hall.”

“Of course, he’s impressive. If his opponent was a moderately manageable veteran, I’d be excited too. But…”

“But what?”

“His opponent is too tough. One of the top three powerhouses in this festival!”

The man’s words were true.

Egon Boel.

The top knight of the Seller Kingdom, one of the southern continent’s great powers, a veteran Graduate for over 30 years. Rumored to have been sharpening his skills after a regrettable semifinal loss last year, some even called him the strongest contender for this tournament.

Of course, like Cecilia, Harang might show skill beyond his age, but there were limits. A young man who had just become a Graduate couldn’t possibly defeat a championship contender.

Those who knew this clicked their tongues in disappointment and bet on Egon Boel. Some bet on Harang, but only with spare change they could afford to lose.

Except for one person.

Everyone, except Sheratiya Viyan, did so.

“She’s betting on the long shot again.”

“She got a taste of it yesterday, huh? But this is too much.”

“Haha… If she’s throwing away money like that, she should give it to me. Living so recklessly?”

“Hey, I can hear you, so be quiet.”

“Ahem, ahem.”

Sheratiya Viyan didn’t back down, saying what she wanted.

Seeing this, people could only mutter “just you wait” to themselves.

“Match, start!”

Moments later, the referee’s voice rang out, signaling the start of the match.

But Egon Boel didn’t immediately draw his sword.

He was curious. What kind of swordsmanship would this kid, so highly praised by the head, display?

If I go all out and he falls right away, I won’t see his skill… Should I give him three moves?

It was an attitude that could be called overconfident, but Egon Boel was bold. If he couldn’t afford this much leeway against a kid over 40 years his junior, it felt like his entire swordsmanship career would be negated.

But moments later, something that truly negated his swordsmanship career happened.

Clang!

“Hmm?”

Swishhh-!

“…Ugh!”

Shockingly, the same scene as yesterday’s final match unfolded.

With one swing, Harang deflected his opponent’s sword, and with a second, he subdued Egon’s solar plexus.

The only difference was that, unlike Cecilia, who mercilessly severed her opponent’s limb, Harang stopped his sword just before impact.

“…”

“…”

Egon Boel held his breath, staring at the sword tip stopped at his solar plexus.

The referee was the same. Unable to anticipate this outcome, he forgot to announce the result.

Instead, it was the audience who declared the outcome.

After a few seconds, confirming another upset in the second day’s matches, the crowd erupted in cheers that shook the entire arena.

WAAAAAHHH!

WOOOOOOHHH!

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