I suddenly thought.
Could it be that the swordmaster is just playing around and acting immature again?
However, that irreverent hypothesis was discarded shortly thereafter. The calmness in the swordmaster’s expression was the reason.
In fact, I appeared even more desperate after receiving such a confusing question.
I was filled with frustration. Still, I found myself in a position where I had nowhere to rely on but the swordmaster. I had to suppress the surging emotions and forcefully piece together my words.
“Of course it’s possible! Didn’t you show us, Elder?”
“No, it’s impossible.”
It was an unexpected declaration.
While I stood there momentarily stunned by those words, the swordmaster wore a bored expression.
“Cutting the sky with a single sword, are you joking? That kind of thing can’t possibly happen.”
“But the Elder clearly…!”
“That’s precisely the imagination.”
It was an immediate response.
As if she had already taken my counterargument into account, the girl continued speaking.
“In the real world, it’s impossible, but in the world of imagination, it’s different. Just as dreams are not bound by the laws of physics… that’s why the sun can pass through a needle’s eye.”
That explanation was the clearest I had heard up to that point.
So I found myself unable to speak carelessly. There seemed to be no clearer explanation, yet I still couldn’t grasp it.
In the end, I had no choice but to throw out another question.
“…How?”
“You have to believe.”
The swordmaster said this and quietly looked at me.
My eyes naturally drifted to her waist, where a sword and a hand axe hung.
‘A needle’s eye.’
Without thinking, I grabbed the sword. I couldn’t even understand why I did that.
“What is the sun?”
“I don’t know.”
“Then what about the needle’s eye?”
“…That’s, well.”
At that, the swordmaster burst into a knowing laugh.
“Of course! If you can’t imagine the sun, how can you imagine the needle’s eye? You still don’t know yourself well enough.”
“What do you mean?”
“Watch closely, kid.”
As the swordmaster said this, she quietly placed her hand on my back.
The very next moment.
Gasp, I couldn’t help but let out a choked breath, my eyes widening. Fierce magical power spun wildly, endlessly penetrating my blood vessels.
It was an incredible sight I had never seen before.
Should I call it a ‘current,’ or rather a ‘tsunami’?
I felt like I wanted to scream at any moment.
The amount of magical power that could move all at once had its limits. This was because there was a limit to the blood vessels.
At this level, I would have to worry about my life, let alone the damage to my blood vessels.
But before I could voice any objections.
“…This is the ‘sun.'”
With that one phrase, I instantly held my breath.
My dazed gaze swept over my limbs. Even as the excess magical power flowed through my blood vessels, I still did not feel any unusual sensations in my body.
It was a question.
Why can I stand without any issues?
“This is ‘you,’ Ian Fercurus… the continent’s morning star, the only disciple destined to inherit the sword spirit!”
I suddenly realized something.
Looking back, I had only focused on the special power that ‘imagination’ possessed. After all, I was able to move within the halted time, so anyone would do the same.
But that should not have been the case.
The tidal flow of overwhelming magical power soon became a fulfilling force, branching out to each capillary. The blade soon glimmered with brilliant silver.
With a light more dazzling than ever.
Compared to the endless magical power flowing through my body, the sword was so thin and frail.
It was almost like a needle.
“How is it, kid…?”
The swordmaster gently patted my back a couple of times, slowly stepping back.
“Didn’t the needle hold the sun?”
It was then that I forced a bitter smile.
Indeed, I understood why the great witch had sent the swordmaster to me.
He clearly preferred a straightforward method of teaching. In contrast, the great witch’s vision was more complex and delicate.
Did I contain the sun in a needle?
That could not be the end.
I tightened my grip on the sword’s handle. I could vividly feel the countless lines of magical power connecting from my blood vessels to the sword.
So I pulled on those lines as if tightening them.
“…Hooh.”
With the girl’s faint gasp, the silver aura shining from my sword began to coalesce firmly. Smaller, more compact, and sharper.
The aura condensed to its limits looked solid as if it were a solid object.
And I realized.
The sword raised high toward the sky. The light held by the blade appeared eager to escape my control at any moment.
But not yet.
Just a little more.
As I felt certain that I had reached my limit, a single flash engraved a straight trajectory connecting the sky and the earth.
What I had imagined was the breathtaking view of slicing the sky with a single sword. Although it didn’t reach the miracle of cleaving the world in half, I was satisfied with the fact that I had managed to replicate it at least a little.
The space was splitting along the silver boundary.
The swordmaster’s eyes widened, seemingly unable to believe my success.
“…Did it work?”
I had to catch my breath even to respond to that question.
The still surging magical power continued to cycle through my blood vessels. Having poured all my strength into it, there was no way it wouldn’t take a toll on my blood vessels.
Eventually, my voice escaped after a few seconds.
“Well…?”
That was my honest impression.
It was the first time I had ever used the technique. Naturally, I couldn’t measure its success or failure.
However, unlike my confused self, the swordmaster was jumping around in place, making a fuss.
“It seems… I think it worked? Kid, you really… your sword talent exceeds imagination! I never expected you to pull it off in one go. The skill level is as if you’ve already known the technique…!”
At that moment.
Crash! The space centered on the silver lines shattered. A refreshingly crisp sound echoed, and soon a figure emerged from the gap.
Just by the small stature and hooded hat, I could tell.
It was ‘Senior Elsi,’ just as I absentmindedly muttered that name to myself.
“Everyone, stop!”
It was a cry filled with a desperate emotion that seemed almost tearful.
In Senior Elsi’s blue eyes, a rare sense of anxiety appeared. Her fleeting glance toward me was tinged with undeniable fear.
Had that shout had any effect?
The noise coming from the spot where the vampire and the great witch clashed ceased. Seizing that moment, Senior Elsi quickly continued her urgent plea.
“We… we need to get out of here immediately! There’s an ambush outside…!”
Senior Elsi could not finish her sentence.
Boom!
A shock that felt as if the entire world was tilting occurred.
Dazed gazes turned upwards to the sky. The blood-colored moon that should have been there was now cracked and swaying precariously.
Witnessing this, the swordmaster immediately shouted.
“We’re getting out of here! Kid, hurry!”
There was already a split in front of us.
Since Senior Elsi had come from the outside, we could simply return to the outside from within.
Despite that, I hesitated and could not move.
It was because of the woman who caught my eye.
The great witch was silently gazing up at the sky. Hidden under her hat, I couldn’t even read the emotions reflected in her eyes.
The swordmaster, who was not oblivious to my feelings, exclaimed.
“It’s already too late! The collapse rate is too fast!”
Saying this, she grabbed me by the nape of my neck with a rough hand. Then, with Senior Elsi, she threw us both and began to leap.
If only the space in front of us had not been collapsing first.
It was a bizarre sight.
There was nothing in the void, yet transparent fragments were falling, mixing the sceneries of various places.
A burning forest.
Two women facing off.
As my sight was completely dyed in those sceneries, I realized a fact I hadn’t noticed before.
The figures of the two women were familiar to me.
I hadn’t realized it when I entered the barrier.
The swordmaster’s judgment was quick.
“This damn… there’s no helping it! We have to…!”
As she shouted this, the moment she took a step toward the opposite side.
“…No!”
A girl who had been quietly collapsed suddenly jumped up.
Senior Elsi dashed forward with a bewildered look. I was about to ask what she was doing before.
That small hand began to pass through the collapsing space.
My gaze instantly turned to the swordmaster. The swordmaster, who was already in the process of escaping to the other side, desperately reached out her arm.
“Kid, please…!”
I tried to grab that hand.
But without realizing it, I caught sight of Senior Elsi left behind me.
That was the end.
A brief moment of hesitation concluded with my vision blacking out.
“…What a fool of a thing to do.”
Along with the sigh of a man that brushed past my ear.
