Every time the atmosphere was torn, metal screamed.
Flames burst out like a death throes, disorienting the vision. The trajectories of gold and blue collided, creating a fierce wind.
In an instant, the flurry of sword strikes exceeded the imagination of any bystander.
Straight lines and curves, intricate lines crossing diagonals.
All of it contained explosive murderous intent.
In the blink of an eye, dozens of exchanges passed, and the tide of battle soon became clear.
Clang! Right after the sharp sound reverberated, someone took a few steps back.
It was a girl with gray hair, Ceria.
In her once-blue eyes, blood vessels were beginning to rise. It meant she could no longer control the overflowing emotions.
Her clenched expression was overtaken only by a thick aura of killing intent.
In contrast, the blonde woman facing Ceria remained unflappable.
Delphine Yuridina, the golden lion protecting the North.
While Ceria’s sword was desperate, hers was graceful. It could stand in a martial arts festival without lacking in dignity.
The gap in their skills was clear enough.
Ceria had only ever defeated Delphine once.
Even that singular victory was largely attributed to Ian’s interference.
Between Delphine, who had received unwavering support as a successor since childhood, and Ceria, the neglected daughter of a concubine, an unbridgeable river inevitably existed.
Ceria was not unaware of this.
Though just over twenty years had passed in her life, hadn’t she felt it etched into her bones her entire life?
Delphine was strong.
Even Ceria’s shining talent would fade when standing before this woman.
Thus, she had been envious her entire life.
Inferiority was like a swamp. No matter how much she struggled, it was always Ceria who would suffocate.
She had desperately tried to escape that filthy mire.
But struggling alone made no difference. Ceria was only becoming more exhausted.
At that moment, someone reached out to her.
“Ian, Senior.”
As the face of a man flickered across her mind, lightning struck Ceria’s unbalanced body.
The familiar warmth dug into her lips, and the sweet scent of blood began to swirl in her mouth.
With a powerful stomp, the girl’s body propelled forward.
From defense, it immediately shifted to offense.
It was a thrust that split the moment.
Even if one were to reproduce a swordsmanship textbook, they would not create a thrust sharper than this.
Most swordsmen would be unable to react at all to such speed.
Well, if we’re talking about “most swordsmen.”
Unfortunately, Ceria’s opponent could not be simply categorized like that.
With a whoosh, a golden aura ignited.
The blades slid past each other, creating strange sounds. Delphine’s body, having simply evaded Ceria’s thrust, was now in close proximity.
What followed was a blur in her memory.
Ceria gasped as she regained her senses. Her hand felt hot, and her breath was stifled, muscles refusing to obey.
For just a moment, she had lost consciousness.
She didn’t even know how she had been defeated in the end.
She could only conjecture that she had been struck in the solar plexus by an elbow or a foot.
Her body was already crumpled in a corner, beneath the overturned kitchenware on the display shelf.
Seeing that, Delphine wore an enchanting smile.
“You’ve improved since the last time, but you’re still too straightforward. Just looking at your eyes, your intentions are crystal clear.”
“…Shut up.”
Gritting her teeth, Ceria attempted to rise.
However, she couldn’t muster strength in her sword-wielding hand. The back of her hand was now glowing red with heat.
It was a burn.
As she let go of the blade, Delphine closed the distance instead. In the process, she was hit by Ceria’s golden aura.
It wasn’t a direct blow to her aura.
Even so, it was hot enough to burn her skin wrapped in magical energy. Her partially scorched muscles could not properly respond to her brain’s commands.
It was unfortunate.
She was already losing in strength, and now she had also sustained burns.
Ceria bit down on her lip.
Still, in her eyes, the blue murderous intent extended fiercely. The jealousy of a girl who had lost her first love was terrifying.
But that anger would not reach Delphine.
Ceria could hardly bear that cruel reality.
“Did you do the same to Senior Ian? Forcing yourself into his body, playing with his kind heart. Residue of affection? Huh… then what you’ve received, is it merely residue of lust?”
“Perhaps.”
It was a nonchalant remark, spat out with disinterest.
Delphine looked at her sword blade reflecting the light. The scene reflected there was utterly gruesome.
Just a few minutes of exchanges.
That alone had left her office in a chaotic mess.
Swords displayed on the walls were scattered on the floor, and various documents and books were burnt or torn and flying around.
Watching the devastation, a pleasurable smile crept onto Delphine’s lips.
“But Ceria, what’s important is the result. Didn’t I always say? That what matters is winning in the end… And that result is right in front of me. A loser kneeling and begging, and a winner standing tall.”
“Standing tall?”
Ceria let out a wild laugh.
In her gaze once again was a cold killing intent.
With rage that had crossed the line, her veins burst forth in a reddish hue.
“If you’re so proud, why don’t you gather a council of the dead and announce it? A filthy wretch who seduces men with her body… Everyone believed in you and followed you, and now we have to serve someone like you as the head of the family, it’s pathetic. Disgusting, I want to vomit… You’re not even human. Just a crazed bitch.”
“Feel free to rant.”
Delphine looked down at Ceria with a smirk.
Of course, Ceria did not like the height of their gazes.
Not at all.
“Nothing will change anyway… Huh, as your sister, I can at least listen to your complaints.”
“Shut up.”
For the second time today, Ceria spat out rough words infused with desperate wishes.
It was a rudeness she had never imagined before.
How dare she use profanity in front of her respected sister.
But now, Ceria no longer had any respect left for her sister.
No, she couldn’t even recognize that Delphine was her sister.
What reflected in Ceria’s retinas was solely the bitch who had taken her precious senior away.
“Do not speak in human language… As a dog, just bark. It suits you better.”
“Don’t be so harsh, Ceria.”
As the staggering girl rose, Delphine aimed her blade at her once more.
With a smile that radiated warmth, the woman’s face displayed pleasantness.
“A little sister begging and groveling before a bitch, how painful that is for me as a sister.”
Ceria tightened her grip on the sword hilt with trembling hands.
There was only one chance.
If she continued like this, she would surely lose.
Even if she somehow avoided a fatal blow, that golden aura was the problem.
It was a heat source that raised the indoor temperature by several degrees, merely by existing.
Even a mere brush would accumulate damage. Eventually, she wouldn’t even be able to hold her sword properly.
She had no choice but to act now if she wanted to fight.
Ceria’s momentum suddenly sank.
The blazing murderous intent turned cold. Just as steel becomes harder through tempering.
And then the stance followed.
Both arms dropped limply. The relaxed muscles showed no signs of any counteraction.
Only the sword remained limp, aimed at Delphine.
At a glance, it seemed like she had given up on the fight.
Yet Delphine was not careless.
Rather, she took on a counter stance, sending a wary glance in return.
Because, the blue eyes were burning with a mischievous light.
One, two.
As breaths continued, her breathing grew shallower.
In accordance, the flow of time increasingly slowed, and the heartbeat nearly halted in that fleeting moment.
The sword light exploded.
There was no premonition at all.
As if it was simply destined to be so, the cerulean blade flashed across the world.
It was not a sword strike with a beginning and an end.
More fitting was the expression that it had suddenly “appeared,” truly the fastest strike.
It was unblocked.
It could not be countered.
There were countless who could not even imagine that such swordsmanship existed.
Unless recognized in advance, there was no one who could receive this “secret sword.”
Instead, Ceria could not control its power either, but it didn’t matter.
After all, it was a sword swung with a murderous intent to kill.
Her reason had long been consumed by jealousy and rage.
At this point, Ceria was convinced of her victory.
Delphine’s body twitched, responding first, but it was far too late.
It was a technique that could be defended against with merely a sword.
Even the sturdiest tree would snap before a typhoon.
But what Ceria failed to notice was that Delphine’s sword stance had fallen to the lower left.
The lion’s claws left behind a golden heat.
The wounds in the air numbered seven, drawn without a moment’s delay.
The golden claws slammed down vertically toward the blue horizon.
Clang, clang, clang, clang!
Ceria’s fully-powered sword instantly smashed apart four of the claw marks.
By this point, Ceria had gritted her teeth.
She couldn’t muster strength in her hands.
Due to the burns.
Instinctively feeling that the strength of her arms alone was not enough, Ceria turned her waist.
It was a large motion that risked sustaining a fatal injury if it should fail.
Yet, for Ceria, who had already thrown her dice, it was unavoidable.
Clang, clang!
Whether that desperate act influenced it or not, two more claw marks crumbled down.
And that was the end.
Ceria felt like she wanted to scream.
Originally, this should have been her victory.
At least from the last moment she had seen, Delphine’s golden lionsword had reached a maximum of five lines.
So why?
Why now?
Just as she was about to decapitate that woman’s neck!
Yet, Ceria’s resentment could not be vocalized.
Before she could, Delphine’s kick struck Ceria’s side directly.
A clean strike enhanced by rotational force, pivoting on her stepping foot.
With Ceria already exposed, she could do nothing to counter it.
Her innards crumbled, and with the pressure inside her rising, blood surged up her throat.
Ceria had to roll on the ground without even being able to scream.
Until she collided with the wall and came to a stop.
Whether she had struck a bookshelf or not, books came crashing down and buried Ceria’s exhausted body.
“…I’m surprised, Ceria.”
Whether it was admiration or mockery.
Delphine let out a gasp and gracefully stepped forward.
“If I hadn’t been careful, I might have taken a hit. It wouldn’t have been good for the head of the family’s reputation, would it?”
Coughing up blood, Ceria struggled to get up.
With her trembling arm pressed against the ground, the books that had covered her body began to fall one by one.
That was the end.
Waiting for Ceria escaping from the grave of papers was Delphine’s sword.
“But in the end, it’s my victory, Ceria.”
Ceria stared blankly for a moment, shivering before she clenched her fist tightly.
She was used to defeat.
Had she not lived her entire life this way?
Yet why did it feel cathartically frustrating today?
Swallowing the tears that were about to fall, Ceria said.
“…Just kill me.”
Yes, it was better this way.
Rather than recall the sight of her beloved senior entangled with her respected sister each night.
With her heart ablaze and desolate, she wanted to hang herself instead.
It would be better to die at the hands of her rival.
Ceria meant it.
Yet even in that empty confession, not a flicker of emotion stirred within Delphine’s eyes.
Only silence followed.
Then, with a voice mixed with a sigh, Delphine spoke.
“Ceria…”
And at that moment.
“Miss!”
Bang! The door to the office burst open, and a group rushed in.
They were the retainers of Yuridina.
The commotion in the office had finally spilled outside.
Realizing the urgency of the situation, both Delphine and Ceria’s gazes quickly turned toward them.
Caught up in the duel, they hadn’t noticed.
Ceria had long lost her rationality, and Delphine hadn’t expected Ceria to put up such a fight.
Thus, the retainers of the Yuridina clan were left with pale expressions.
Inside the disheveled office, and the wreck that was Ceria.
Including the sword of Delphine aimed at her throat.
Delphine and Ceria fell silent, each lowering their gaze.
They wanted to make excuses, but yeah.
It was the epitome of a dysfunctional family.
