Side Story – Reversal [3]
Speira was still seated on the throne.
Seated there, she regarded Johanna with a smile that wasn’t particularly friendly.
Johanna, facing such a Speira, warned her with a voice cold and rigid. “Don’t act up and stand up.”
“…”
Speira was truly interested in what Johanna had accomplished to reach this place alone.
Wanting to prolong this intriguing moment, Speira swayed the Sacred Sword without activating the second eye. “Begin first. You should give your all while I’m letting my guard down. After all, you’ve gone through the trouble of bringing someone here.”
“…”
In response to Speira’s playful provocation, Johanna loosened her grip on her sword.
Immediately after, a thunderous strike descended upon Speira.
!!!!
The sound reached their ears slower than the speed at which the sword struck.
By the time Speira barely realized Johanna’s acceleration, the trajectory of the sword had already reached above Speira’s head.
Speira admired the speed of Johanna’s attack and moved the Sacred Sword belatedly.
There was no time for a proper defensive stance, making her posture awkward, but Speira didn’t care.
Clang-!!!!!
At the moment their swords met.
Speira felt an unexpected ‘pressure’ pressing down on the Sacred Sword.
As the awkwardly blocked attack pressed against the sword, Speira’s stance twisted in the direction of the force.
“…!”
In the instant of collision.
A shockwave erupted from the intersection where the two swords met.
Kwaang!!!!!
The sturdy floor of the audience chamber cracked in all directions due to the shockwave.
Rising from the throne, Speira had to take three steps back as she failed to fully dissipate the recoil from blocking the sword.
Speira looked at the distance she had retreated with her own eyes.
Speira found the current situation incredibly astonishing, even shocking.
“What kind of magic…?”
!!!!
Without waiting for Speira to finish speaking, Johanna unleashed another thunderous strike aimed at Speira’s face.
Speira failed to recognize Johanna’s lightning-fast attack in time once again.
Clang-!!!
Speira narrowly avoided Johanna’s thrust that had come so close.
The massive wall behind Speira crumbled into sand-like fragments due to the forceful current created by Johanna’s thrust.
Krrrrrrack!!!!!
Speira felt her physical balance waver.
If Johanna were to exploit this opening, it would undoubtedly lead to an even more threatening situation.
However, Johanna did not do so. Speira realized that Johanna too couldn’t fully control the speed she was generating.
The acceleration beyond her own sight reduced the precision of her techniques.
Nevertheless, the sword strikes Johanna emitted were fast and destructive enough to trivialize such flaws.
Speira couldn’t even begin to guess how Johanna could unleash such attacks.
“How…?”
Without stubbornly holding onto unnecessary pride, Speira immediately enveloped her golden pupils with a red circle, completing the second eye awakening.
Thanks to the second awakening, reading the trajectory of the attacks became much smoother.
Having deflected Johanna’s attack by a hair’s breadth, Speira stared directly at Johanna once more.
“…Ha.”
Speira let out a brief hollow laugh.
Through the second eye, the boundary between spirit and body that should have existed within Johanna had vanished.
Confronting Johanna’s unbelievable essence… Speira faintly revealed a bitter expression.
“…We are of the same kind.”
Even if their desires and motives differed,
The madness of reaching into the darkness and discarding their ‘humanity’ so easily to achieve their goals—this aspect made the two similar.
Speira, revealing a smile that seemed somewhat self-deprecating, moved the Sacred Sword.
Zzzziiip!!!!!!
Johanna continued to fill Speira’s field of vision with thunderous strikes without even regulating her breathing.
No matter how well-trained one might be, Johanna’s sword speed was beyond what a human body could possibly achieve.
Her joints should have shattered long ago, yet Johanna didn’t shed a single drop of blood.
While continuing to defend herself unilaterally, Speira kept observing Johanna.
Achieving the unity of spirit and body alone wasn’t enough to counteract the ‘dark radiance.’
The special nature of the dark radiance, born from the collaboration of transcendent beings, wasn’t a trivial force that could be completely negated merely by the power of the soul.
Johanna knew this better than anyone else.
That’s why Johanna was utilizing the variable core within her heart in an extreme manner.
Grgrgrgrk!!!!!
Johanna’s heart beat roughly.
Most knights undergo an essential ‘refinement’ process when creating cores to enhance their stability and reduce strain on the body.
Only with refined mana can a core function stably within the body.
However, Johanna ignored all common sense and unleashed the rampant flow of mana from within her body.
Without considering any physical damage, she deformed the variable core located in her heart to its limit, causing it to emit a torrent of mana solely to amplify the power of her sword.
ZZZEEEEEEEEEEEEEENG!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
The power generated by Johanna’s sword strikes, which exceeded normal limits, was nothing short of catastrophic.
Although Speira was currently restraining the full manifestation of the dark radiance, even so, Johanna’s sword strikes exhibited catastrophic power enough to push Speira back.
Moreover, in terms of swordsmanship, Johanna clearly surpassed Speira.
The moment they properly crossed swords,
The disparity in strength between Johanna, who had repeatedly engaged in fierce battles on the front lines, and Speira, who had remained ensconced on the throne of the Sacred Country, became glaringly apparent.
Speira trembled at the corners of her mouth as she experienced ‘limits’ for the first time in a long while.
“…”
Limits. Limits… Yes, I feel them now.
It was also the first time Speira had ever felt limits during a battle with her peers and poured out her full strength, when she faced Johanna’s sword.
Though not something she wanted to remember, it was certainly unforgettable.
Speira had felt joy for the first time when crossing swords with a peer girl.
Because it was so enjoyable, she wished to give her all and achieved the second eye awakening without her great-grandfather’s permission.
The deviated fate she glimpsed that day through the second eye awakening… stirred her heart anew.
“…”
Our first meeting wasn’t like this.
Our first meeting wasn’t pleasant.
In the original fate, we were each other’s sworn enemies, desperate to annihilate the other.
I thought that was a deviated fate.
Now, though I believed it to be a deviated fate, ultimately, we are standing here hating each other and crossing swords.
The emotions we harbor, our resolve, our symbols—all reversed.
Only the places we stand are reversed.
Our fates have eventually returned to the starting point.
We are pointing our swords at each other.
“…”
For a fleeting moment, Speira gazed at Johanna with a somber smile.
Johanna crossed her dual swords without paying attention to Speira’s smile.
!!!!
With a deafening roar,
Johanna shattered the wall and pushed Speira out under the crimson sky.
*
Royal Guard, Paula.
She was under the protection of the Sacred Country.
Not only her, but most of the surviving Royal Guards were active within the sphere of influence of the Sacred Country.
The Royal Guards were, without doubt, the most elite knight forces available to the Sacred Country.
The Sacred Country didn’t actively utilize the Royal Guards openly.
There was also the risk of provoking the Empire centered around Luna and Lea by deploying the Royal Guards, and powerful cards are generally best kept hidden to maximize their impact.
Thus, Paula mainly operated in the shadows rather than the open while collaborating with the Sacred Country.
And today, Paula was taking a rest without any missions in Kailroom.
However, while Paula was resting, Kailroom came under attack.
It was a surprise assault by a small group of elite forces supported by Sharpshooter Elves.
Paula immediately equipped herself for any contingency.
However, Speira communicated that there was no need for the hidden Royal Guards to step in due to the intrusion of just a few attackers, and Paula, inwardly agreeing, waited armed and ready.
But the situation didn’t resolve as easily as initially predicted.
As time passed, the sounds and vibrations of combat continued to reverberate through the ground.
The battle persisted without easy resolution, and eventually, the noise of combat spread even to the center of Kailroom.
Paula had to consider whether to stay put or move to suppress the intruders.
Koooggggng!!!!!!
“…”
Part of the outer wall of the Papal Palace collapsed due to the aftershocks of the battle.
Although Paula couldn’t see the scene directly from underground, she could roughly gauge where the collapse occurred through her senses.
Paula sighed briefly and touched the hilt of her sword.
It didn’t seem like staying put would be the right choice.
Waiting here like this wouldn’t allow for flexible responses; joining nearby units or other Royal Guards would be far more effective.
Just as Paula decided to move,
A sensation that was hard to describe swept over her entire body—perhaps akin to unease.
“……?”
Paula couldn’t adequately explain or understand what she had just felt.
Maybe it was a momentary illusion caused by excessive tension.
However, Paula’s finely honed intuition was sending a warning.
Right now, it urged her to delve into her memories and recall something.
“…”
The unsettling sensation she had just felt was unfamiliar, yet not entirely so.
She had experienced a similar feeling before.
Sharpening her senses, Paula sifted through her memories and gradually approached the answer.
“…”
Beyond the Demonic Realm.
The forced expedition to eliminate Preches.
Around the end of the war…
While moving to provide support, she had sensed a ripple of power.
That was undoubtedly… the corrupted power Preches had unleashed.
“…Impossible.”
Reactively denying her own thoughts, Paula burst out of the door leading to the surface, nearly breaking it in the process.
In the capital of the Sacred Country, Kailroom,
Two girls, swords in hand, were advancing toward each other.
