It seems like I understand, yet it also feels like I don’t. Roka calmly gazed at the sword she held. Unable to withstand the Power Techniques, the blade had already begun to chip.
“Cough!”
The princess, who had been staring at the Dragon’s Sword flung far away with a dazed expression, finally turned her gaze back to Roka. She blinked her eyes and opened them again. But doing so didn’t change the outcome.
When that child requested a spar, Ardein didn’t think much of it. She accepted the spar with the thought of giving some guidance. The Roka she remembered was the Roka from the past.
It wasn’t that long ago. Back when Roka didn’t even know how to handle Power Techniques, and Ardein had to teach her everything from scratch. No matter how long it felt, it hadn’t even been three months.
Those three months. In fact, it was even less time than that. Only now had Ardein found her own path, the Void Sword. It felt like she had wasted all that time. Meanwhile, Roka had skyrocketed from the bottom to the top.
Seeing the smile on Roka’s face, Ardein couldn’t help but feel annoyed. But regardless, the girl was proud.
She had lost to Geher, but she had defeated Kisea and Ardein. And it wasn’t even in her full condition. She had requested the spar not long after fighting Kisea.
As a Master, her magical power was continuously replenished, but the fatigue accumulated in her body to some extent. Sparring with another Master was no joke. Each round drained her stamina severely.
“Huff.”
Even as she panted with her tongue out from the heat, her ears perked up with pride. It seemed like she had finally grasped the sense of her own Power Techniques.
But it was just a sense. Just a mere sense. If she didn’t seize this opportunity, it would slip away. And who knows when the next chance for enlightenment would come.
“I have a request.”
After catching her breath, Roka spoke up. In that short time, she had recovered some stamina. She was still tired, but at least she wasn’t gasping for air anymore. Her racing heartbeat had also returned to normal.
“A request…?”
“I want to spar with other Masters besides Elder Geher.”
The princess was flustered as she looked at the blue wolf staring intently at her. This wasn’t a request she could enforce. She wasn’t even sure if there was anything to gain from it.
“Well, I’ll bring it up. But neither we nor they have much time, so it might be a bit difficult…”
Even the princess couldn’t command someone like Xerox, the Captain of the Celestial Dawn Knight Order, or the serene Leyman. Especially now, when both were facing the Death God. Under normal circumstances, they wouldn’t entertain a sparring request.
“It shouldn’t be too hard. Anyone walking the path of a warrior would understand, right?”
Taking Roka with her, she first approached Xerox, who still held the title of Captain of the Celestial Dawn Knight Order. Fortunately, his response was favorable. There was no need for persuasion.
Xerox readily agreed. He had received his eyes from an angel. That debt wasn’t something he could repay easily. What could he possibly offer in return to the angel above?
If he could clear even a part of that debt, if he could repay even a fraction of the grace he had received, he thought it wouldn’t be so bad. As he waved his hand, the sword in its sheath unsheathed itself and flew into his hand.
Roka’s eyes sparkled. Just seeing that was enough to know he was a master.
She didn’t need to win. This wasn’t a fight to the death. If she could clash with all her might and gain even one thing, that would be enough.
*****
The next morning, Kisea, who had slept soundly and woken up, went looking for Roka first. Determined to avenge yesterday’s humiliation, she opened the door and entered, only to find a wolf with a face swollen like a balloon.
“Uh…”
Seeing Roka’s bruised and swollen face, Kisea made a strange expression. If she was that hurt, she should have gone to the priest for healing. Why was she just sitting there?
Not lying down but sitting upright, the wolf quietly opened her eyes. Her gaze was eerily unsettling. Feeling an inexplicable chill, Kisea quietly closed the door.
“Sorry. Have a good time.”
Roka didn’t respond. She even postponed meeting Kyle, whom she liked so much, and sank deep into thought. She had faced numerous Power Techniques head-on, taking hits to understand their strengths and weaknesses.
If she fell asleep and woke up tomorrow, she wouldn’t remember today as vividly. The opportunity to spar with so many Masters in one night was practically the first and last of its kind.
If she didn’t decide on her own Power Techniques now, she might never get the chance again. Slow and cautious wasn’t Roka’s style. She wanted to make a bold and decisive choice. She didn’t want to drag this out any longer.
Ardein’s Dragon Form Technique. It was above average in every aspect. But while it excelled across the board, it lacked any standout feature. Kisea’s Destruction Technique. It was great for surprise attacks but vulnerable in direct combat.
Geher’s Stellar Technique. It was as strong and domineering as a star. But the Power Techniques were too intense, lacking any gentleness. It was just ferocious.
Leyman’s Void Technique. It was more like emptiness itself than a Power Technique. It might be strong, but it didn’t suit her. She felt like this spar was a waste.
Xerox’s Harmony Technique was the most helpful. Like Roka, he was a distant descendant of Heron. It blended well with all situations and environments but showed weaknesses against extreme techniques like the Sunset Slash.
Xerox had overcome compatibility and defeated Roka, but that was because his level was so high. No matter how great the Power Techniques, if the wielder was lacking, they couldn’t avoid defeat.
‘What technique did Heron use?’
The regret was that she never got the chance to spar with Heron. Naturally, she didn’t know what Power Techniques he used. Or was Power Techniques even important to him?
No matter how much she reflected on his teachings, he had never mentioned creating any kind of Power Technique. In fact, he never even uttered the term “Power Techniques.”
While everyone else was creating and training their Power Techniques, that swordsman wielded his sword, containing the world within it. He didn’t refine his magical power into techniques but used the raw magical power of the universe.
The most primal magical power. Unrefined. Thus, it contained all attributes. Heron’s sword could contain anything, become anything, and had no weaknesses in attributes or compatibility.
Roka focused on that. No matter how good a Power Technique was, it would always have weaknesses. Unless one broke free from the framework of Power Techniques like Leyman, they would always have strengths and weaknesses.
Everything was like that. Even if Heron’s method seemed appealing, there was a reason it wasn’t the standard. Throughout history, he was the first and only one to handle magical power that way.
It was an unteachable method. During his lifetime, he had explained his method many times, but no one could even take the first step. Considering that Power Techniques could be used by anyone who knew the method, it was a fatal flaw.
‘I don’t want to choose just one.’
All the techniques she had came with their own strengths and weaknesses. Choosing one meant giving up another. The greedy wolf wanted to take everything. Even if it meant losing something else in the process.
‘I’ll make everything mine.’
Mixing strengths to create a hybrid would only result in a jumbled mess of techniques. She had learned that through countless attempts. So, she wouldn’t mix them. She would devour them whole.
A wolf within Roka’s inner self opened its eyes. That wolf was none other than herself. Seeing the sun and moon swimming within her, it roared and leaped up, swallowing them whole.
In reality, it would be impossible, but this was her inner world. A place where her desires manifested. The forms of the sun and moon. The wolf that had swallowed their magical power whole staggered. It rolled on the ground as if suffering from indigestion.
“Both are mine.”
Roka was in just as much pain. Her stomach ached even though she hadn’t eaten anything. At the level of a Master, the inner and outer worlds interacted. As her mind suffered, so did her body. She felt nauseous, as if she had overeaten.
“And more.”
Growling, she scratched the floor with her claws. Screech! An unpleasant tearing sound echoed.
Kisea, who had been listening outside the door, felt a chill.
“Is she okay…?”
She peeked inside and saw the wolf’s aura swirling around Roka. She quickly closed the door. It was clear that Roka was going through something important.
If she interrupted and ruined Roka’s enlightenment, it would be disastrous. Kyle could heal her body, but the enlightenment, once lost, couldn’t be recovered. Enlightenment was highly volatile.
For a warrior, such enlightenment didn’t come often. Ruining it would be like asking for death. Even if Roka swung her sword with the intent to kill, it would be justifiable self-defense.
Crunch! Gnash! Crack!
The sound of something being chewed and swallowed grated on her ears. The blue wolf figure above Roka howled at the sky, biting and chewing the magical power of the sun and moon.
It was the process of her own Power Technique devouring the magical power of the sun and moon. Suffering so much, Roka took out some star candies and crunched on them to soothe the pain. The noise doubled.
“Is she going to collapse the building…?”
The responsible maid, pale-faced, rushed over and collapsed to her knees. The door couldn’t block the ferocious aura Roka was emitting.
Her face pale, Kisea had to shield the maid with her own magical power. Roka seemed to have no mind to control her power, releasing it in all directions.
Whoosh!
Then, suddenly, it became quiet. The sounds stopped, and the aura subsided.
Kisea gently opened the door and saw Roka sitting quietly. The swelling on her face had gone down, and her bruised skin had returned to its normal color.
Sparkle.
When the girl opened her eyes, sunlight shone from her right eye, and moonlight from her left. It lasted only a moment before her deep blue eyes returned.
The girl, smiling, looked at Kisea and seemed about to say something. But before she could, her eyes closed again, and she fell backward.
“Hey, hey!”
After consecutive spars and creating her own Power Technique, Roka was exhausted. No matter what anyone said, she wanted to sleep deeply and wake up refreshed.
“What are you doing there! We have an emergency! Call the priest! Hurry!”
Listening to Kisea’s exaggerated fussing over her sleepiness, Roka smiled. She had completed her Devouring Technique. A great burden in her heart had been lifted.
Now, the girl had no worries. When she opened her eyes, her master would surely be there.