Ch-ch-ch-clang!

Rutie's swift sword, which she failed to block, created cuts on Ashley's ear, cheek, shoulder, and limbs. No matter how shallow the wounds, as they accumulated, they were bound to chip away at her stamina. She felt her body growing heavier as the wounds increased.

Her breathing grew ragged. It was becoming more and more difficult to receive Rutie's attacks.

But even as she barely managed to receive Rutie's sword, Ashley did not stop thinking. Because if this continued, defeat was certain.

Ashley's mind raced.

'I can't use the Golden Flash.'

To use it, a preparatory process of gathering mana in one place was necessary. Because you have to gather it before you can explode it. A tremendous amount of concentration is required to gather a large amount of mana in a short time. It's not long, but it's not short either.

Her opponent was Rutie of the Swift Sword. A genius of swordsmanship. For her, one second was enough time to swing her sword five times. The moment she took her eyes off this rain of sword strikes, even for a moment, her cold downpour would pierce right through her.

'But...'

No matter how much she thought, there was no clear solution other than the Golden Flash.

'What do I do? What should I do?'

Suddenly, the image of the blind swordsman, who had looked at her and spoken softly, came to mind.

'Is the flash the only child of the explosion?'

At the time, she had thought it was nonsense. But thinking about it now, she could tell that he had been trying to give her advice in his own way. The problem was, she couldn't understand what on earth he was saying. What did the flash mean, what was the explosion, and what on earth did 'the only child' mean?

Does enlightenment only come through unkind words?

"Ugh!"

At that moment, a dizzying pain shot up from her foot. She looked down to see Rutie looking up at her, having stabbed her rapier into her instep.

"What are you thinking so hard about? In the middle of a battle."

"Keuk!"

Ashley swung her sword to drive Rutie away. She giggled and retreated.

Throb.

A sharp pain shot up every time she moved her foot. The pain tormented her and restricted her movements. She was already suffering from an ankle injury from overexerting herself in the previous match, and now her instep had been pierced. It was a situation where one of her feet was half-sealed.

'...Ah.'

The only way she could win was by using the Golden Flash, but even that was now out of the question. Ashley felt despair clouding her vision.

"Are you surrendering?"

Rutie's giggling voice sounded distant in her ears.

'...Is this really the end?'

Helplessness began to eat away at her. Her mind was blank, and her whole body ached. Why am I standing here? The rapier she was holding felt heavy.

My strength... is draining away.

The tip of my sword... is lowering.

'Am I going to kneel before this woman... again...'

At that moment, someone's voice sounded faintly.

'Is the flash the only child of the explosion?'

Flash...? Explosion? The only child?

...

......

"...!"

Her mind snapped back to reality.

The moment she was about to give up on everything, a sudden realization came to her in that moment of despair. As she accepted it fully without a shred of doubt, its meaning became clear.

'Is the flash the only child of the explosion?'

It was interpreted like this:

'Is the Golden Flash the only thing you can do by exploding your mana?'

It felt as if her eyes had been flung wide open.

"Hoo..."

Ashley caught her breath, then glared at Rutie with calm, sunken eyes. Then, she quietly raised her sword. The trembling at the tip of her sword was gone. In her eyes, which burned bluer than before, only a single, quietly burning candle flame flickered.

Seeing this, Rutie stopped laughing. The expression on her face inside the helmet, now wiped clean of laughter, changed completely.

"...."

Rutie, now frighteningly serious, looked at Ashley... then swung her sword faster than before, pushing her back.

Ch-ch-ch-ch-clang!

Ashley fought back against her sword with all her might. But nothing had changed from before. She was still barely avoiding fatal blows, and the small cuts she failed to block continued to increase. Her armor became soaked in blood.

Rutie sneered.

"What are you doing? You acted like you had some great realization. Nothing's changed."

"...."

"It would have been better if you had surrendered earlier. You're still being stubborn."

At that moment, Ashley exploded the mana flowing in her sword arm.

Flash!

A small flash erupted. It was an infinitely weak light compared to when she unleashed the Golden Flash, but the result was encouraging.

"...Huh?"

Rutie froze for a moment. Ashley's rapier had already grazed her cheek.

...Drip.

Blood trickled down her cheek.

Shudder.

Goosebumps rose on her skin. If she had been just a little off, her face would have been pierced.

"...!"

Rutie stared at Ashley in disbelief.

Ashley smiled faintly.

"Is the flash... the only child of the explosion?"

"What?"

"It is not."

"You...!"

Ch-ch-ch-clang!

The two sisters clashed fiercely. But Rutie's sword had lost its power compared to before. This was because she had unconsciously become wary of Ashley's small flashes. Therefore, Ashley had more opportunities to unleash her small flashes.

Flash!

Every time a small flash erupted, another cut was added to Rutie's body. Before long, Ashley had seized the initiative.

Rutie, extremely wary of the small, flashing lights, focused on defense as if determined not to miss a single one. Because if she missed just one, the match would be over. But the flashing lights increased in frequency, and their brightness gradually intensified. The accuracy of the attacks also improved.

Flash!

Kang!

"Keuk!"

Rutie, being on high alert, barely managed to block her dazzling thrust, but she couldn't handle the force behind it and was stabbed in the shoulder.

Rutie staggered back. She panted and looked at Ashley.

"Ashley... you..."

Gazing at her with unwavering, candle-like eyes, Ashley took her stance. One foot slightly forward. The rapier, gripped tightly with both hands, was pulled back hard behind her shoulder. Her center of gravity was slanted forward, as if she would topple over.

Looking at Ashley like that, Rutie smiled from within her helmet.

"Ashley..."

Flash!

A light more brilliant than ever before cut across the arena. The light faded as quickly as it had erupted.

Ashley was now standing behind Rutie.

Rutie muttered softly, as if whispering.

"You're all grown up."

Thud.

Rutie, her shoulder pierced, collapsed.

Aron shouted.

"Waaaaaah!"

***

The people cheered and were enthusiastic about the match, but what really surprised them was the knight named Annie. They had expected the Golden Flash to win easily again, but it looked like she had barely won after being pushed back the whole time. Since they didn't know she was Rutie of the Swift Sword, it was, in a way, a natural reaction.

Even the nobles were puzzled and asked each other.

"That knight named Annie. Does anyone know who she is?"

"No. I've never heard of her."

"It's stranger that she's not known with that level of skill."

"She must be from a foreign country."

"The Prince has brought in a good talent."

"Haha, Prince? Shouldn't we be calling him Your Majesty now?"

"Hehe, that's right."

The nobles who had lined up with the First Prince chattered on, inwardly relieved. This was because the Golden Flash, who had barely won, was not in good condition. It looked difficult for her to continue the match.

They had been chattering happily when the First Prince's knights were defeating the Black Prince's Black Knights one after another. But when the Golden Flash won consecutively, they had become anxious, and only now were they finally relieved and smiling broadly. This was because the First Prince's side still had three knights standing, while the Black Prince's side had only a shabby, worthless blind swordsman left.

"Where on earth did he pick that one up..."

"Tsk, tsk. He must have been quite desperate."

On the other hand, the faces of the faction supporting the Black Prince turned ashen. Because their last hope, the Golden Flash, had fallen.

"Ah... for the Golden Flash to be defeated like that."

"This can't be..."

They had no expectations for the blind swordsman either. They had heard about the incident the day before where five knights who were supposed to participate suddenly disappeared, so they knew he was someone brought in from somewhere to make up the numbers.

"It's all over..."

"Is the revolution ending in failure..."

Above the nobles' seats, where reactions were split in two.

The King stroked his chin with an interested expression.

"This is unexpected. Even if Rutie was wielding a rapier."

"Indeed."

"Was Sir Ashley always that strong?"

"It seemed as if she had some kind of awakening during the battle."

"...An awakening."

The King looked at the Black Prince's last remaining knight. The blind swordsman.

"Do you think he was influenced?"

Frost Knight also looked down at him, following the King's gaze.

"...I think it's possible."

"I see."

"Yes."

The King smiled with great anticipation.

"I've waited a long time. It's finally the finale."

His sparkling eyes could not be torn away from the shabby blind swordsman.

***

Ashley, her shoulders heaving, staggered for a moment, then slumped to the ground. Her ears were ringing and her head was hot.

"Haa..."

She examined her foot. Her ankle was twisted, and the blood flowing from her pierced instep had stained her foot bright red. Far from being able to continue the match, she could barely even walk properly. And that wasn't all. Her arm, which had unleashed the flash multiple times, was also throbbing and she couldn't move it properly.

Ashley stared blankly at Rutie being carried away on a stretcher. She had won, but the price was too high to call it a victory.

Aron approached and asked her.

"Sir Ashley. Will you continue the match?"

"...."

"Personally, I wouldn't recommend it."

Ashley slowly shook her head.

"...I will step down."

Aron gave a hand signal to the Black Prince's side. Immediately, a medical team came up onto the stage with a stretcher.

Aron watched Ashley being placed on the stretcher and said.

"That was amazing. I never thought you would beat her."

Ashley smiled faintly.

"I didn't know either."

"Is that so?"

"If it weren't for those words..."

Aron's eyes widened at the unexpected remark.

"Those words?"

But Ashley said no more.

Carried down from the stage on a stretcher, she said to the Black Prince.

"I have... no excuse."

The Black Prince said calmly.

"You've worked hard. Rest well."

Ashley then said to the blind swordsman who was looking at her.

"I leave... the rest to you."

He nodded.

"Leave it to me."

The blind swordsman watched her head towards the waiting room... then turned and walked towards the stage.

The Black Prince, as he passed by, leaning on his scabbard like a cane, said to him.

"Are you... confident?"

The blind swordsman grinned.

"Who knows."

***

Never mind the clueless audience and the watching nobles. For those who knew Annie's true identity, the result of the duel came as a complete shock.

'The Royal Knight, Rutie of the Swift Sword, was defeated by the Golden Flash!'

Of course, she had used a rapier instead of her main weapon, a long Dao. But a loss was a loss.

"Hah..."

Who knew the Golden Flash was that strong. The only silver lining was that she too had sustained injuries that were not light in the process of defeating Rutie and could not continue the match.

"...She makes you stay on your toes until the very end."

The First Prince muttered. He glanced at the two Royal Knights. But they were wearing their helmets, so he couldn't see their expressions. They must have been quite shocked as well.

The tumultuous decisive battle was now over. All that was left was a worthless blind swordsman, hastily thrown in to fill the numbers, from who knows where.

The First Prince let out a sigh. Was it a sigh of relief? Or a sigh of turmoil?

'Still, I should be glad it ended without any major variables.'

The First Prince said in a somewhat weary voice.

"Sir Riley."

"Yes."

"Go and finish the decisive battle with your own hands."

"Yes!"

The young knight, who had answered vigorously, walked up onto the stage with powerful steps.

From the opposite side, the blind swordsman was slowly coming up onto the stage, leaning on his scabbard like a cane.

Riley arrived at the center of the arena first and waited for his opponent to come.

*Tap... tap...*

He walked so slowly.

A sneer appeared on Riley's face. Still, he reminded himself not to be careless, and considered the possibility that he might be an unknown hidden master, but... when he felt no mana from his opponent, he completely let his guard down.

He had really brought in some random swordsman who couldn't even use mana.

"Good grief..."

The opponent, who had been fumbling his way with his scabbard, soon lost his direction and started heading towards the right side of the arena.

Riley chuckled and said.

"Hey, over here."

"Ah."

He changed direction, leaning on his scabbard like a cane, and slowly approached. It took an eternity just for him to walk over. Even then, he kept losing his way, and he had to be constantly told his position.

"To think I have to fight a blind man like this..."

Riley looked at the blind man with pity and said to Aron.

"Can't we just start? It'll take an eternity for him to walk over."

"Ah, shall we?"

Aron, with an amused expression, asked the slowly approaching blind man.

"Are you ready? Shall we begin?"

"Ah, go ahead and start. I'm a bit of a slow walker. I'd be grateful if you could come over here."

Aron, trying hard to suppress his laughter, shouted.

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