Dreams are a distorted mirror that reflects desires.
It was the assertion of a certain scholar. According to his research, the human brain briefly reveals the repressed areas of the unconscious while asleep. And that image was said to have a deep connection with the buried desires within.
This theory had faced numerous counterarguments in recent times. However, its interpretation had spread widely across various fields, still exerting influence today.
Even I, a mere student of the Swordsmanship Department, had heard such tales.
Yet, one question could arise.
Why was I suddenly recalling a theory that I did not understand?
The reason was simple.
It was because the scene I encountered in my dream was so unexpected.
It was a girl with a petite figure and delicate features, her fair skin adorned with striking blue eyes—a very beautiful maiden. In addition, she was wearing a large hooded hat, which could now be seen as her symbol.
No matter how I looked at it, it was surely Senior Elsi that I knew.
Save for one thing.
“Why are you just staring with those wide eyes? What’s wrong with you… huh?! Is Elsi Rainelle’s words funny to you?”
It was her manner of speaking.
I was taken aback by the rough tone of voice that I hadn’t heard in a long time. At first, I thought this was a ‘Senior Elsi’ from the future, but the Elsi from the future tended to use a more refined speech.
Such raw language felt like a relic of a specific person.
The Elsi before knowing me.
Could it be that the identity of the desire I didn’t even know I had was like this?
In truth, I might even prefer this rough-talking version of Senior Elsi.
While I was in this state of confusion, Senior Elsi growled and slowly rose to her feet. With a crackling sound, fragments of energy gathered in her hands.
She was a hotheaded one—exactly the same.
“Huh, you’re still not answering? I guess you don’t know yet; my nickname is ‘Rainelle’s Fighting Dog’…!”
“Why are you crying here?”
I couldn’t hold back any longer and blurted out the question.
Since it was a dream, no matter what I did would not matter. So before waking up, I decided to extract as much information as I could.
Why was Senior Elsi crying in my dream?
It was truly an unsettling question.
In fact, it was Senior Elsi who seemed taken aback by my attitude.
“…What?”
“I asked why you’re crying alone. You wouldn’t be shedding tears for no reason, would you?”
As I took a step closer, Senior Elsi flinched and stepped back in surprise.
“W-What are you doing coming closer?! Haven’t you heard my name before?!”
“I’ve heard it a lot. Anyway, why were you crying?”
Senior Elsi began to shrink more and more at my assertive stance.
At first, she acted like a haughty cat, but now she was turning her gaze away like a timid small dog. Just as the distance between us was nearly evaporating.
Eventually, the girl blushed and shouted angrily, “W-What’s it to you?!”
“Why wouldn’t it be my concern? I am….”
Your fiancé.
That phrase surged to my throat, but upon reflection, it had a critical flaw.
It was that Senior Elsi didn’t even know of my existence.
If I suddenly claimed to be her fiancé, I would be lucky if I wasn’t treated like a lunatic. Besides, hadn’t Senior Elsi earned quite a reputation for rejecting every suitor who confessed to her?
It was possible she might misunderstand and zap me with her magic.
Not that I planned to take it lying down, but I didn’t want to intentionally provoke her either.
After a long moment of deliberation, I ultimately decided to employ my final trick.
At last, I brandished my hand axe.
The girl’s retinas reflected the stark appearance of the tool with a blank stare. I coughed lightly, trying to divert my gaze.
“…Is there a need to know? I’m just curious.”
Senior Elsi’s reaction was dramatic.
“You’re completely nuts?!”
At her shout, I pretended to look slightly hurt, making a sulky expression.
Of course, Senior Elsi showed no sign of caring about my reaction.
As I took another step forward, the girl’s face went pale in an instant.
“Y-You, why are you… N-No, please don’t come closer!”
“If you just answer me, I’ll let you go quietly. Probably.”
Perhaps it would have been better not to add the ‘probably.’
Senior Elsi now seemed to have lost strength in her legs, stumbling backward. The image of her dragging her rear as she attempted to move away from me revived some distant memories.
It felt like there had been occasions like this before.
My footsteps momentarily faltered as I recalled the memories. When I struck my palm with the back of the axe with a snap, the girl flinched even more, curling up and trembling.
It was then the tear-stained mumbling began to wet my ears.
“Wh-Why does it have to be me…”
I was about to take another step when suddenly, at the all too familiar self-questioning, I couldn’t help but lower my gaze. The words from the crying girl were too reminiscent of a question I’d heard countless times before.
Why is it me?
“I-I’m nothing… I just wanted to pretend to be strong! Anyone could do that… But why does my uncle… Why me… why only me…”
As she continued to shrink back, something fell from the girl’s grasp.
A jet-black cane.
With a clang and a haunting sound, the relic that slipped from her embrace seemed terribly lonely.
I hesitated, my lips moving a few times, ultimately deciding to remain silent.
Because the girl was still crying.
“I-I’m scared… Being expected is scary; I’m afraid of disappointing everyone… I’m not that amazing…”
At that moment, I began to understand.
Every human harbored a fragile side within them. It was only natural, being made of flesh and blood. However, a warrior who had reached a certain level was different.
They were human, yet not human.
To become what was known as a superhuman, one must overcome trials.
It was about conquering oneself.
Perhaps this girl was the weak side of ‘Senior Elsi.’
The frightened girl, who had hidden herself deep within and could not completely let go.
Suddenly, I remembered the testimony of Senior Elsi from the future.
She had wanted to return her body, but she could not.
The reason lay right before my eyes.
As I let out a soft sigh, the girl’s trembling voice followed.
“I-I don’t have to be… it doesn’t have to be me… how can I defeat that monster…? Huh? Just let me go… Someone stronger and more fitting than me…!”
“Senior Elsi.”
It was a single word I uttered while kneeling.
At that moment, miraculously, the trembling of Senior Elsi began to subside. Her tear-filled blue eyes gazed at me from afar.
I purposely lowered my stance to meet her gaze directly. Then I posed a heavy question.
“Senior Elsi… do you know why people in the world treat you the way they do?”
The sudden question caused the girl’s pupils to flutter uncontrollably.
But after a moment’s hesitation.
Senior Elsi asked me, her voice tinged with faint hope.
“…W-Why?”
I received her watery gaze and managed a faint smile.
And then I answered.
“Because you’re weak.”
The sound of her breath stopped abruptly. As the only noise in the vicinity vanished, a suffocating silence enveloped us.
The vacant blue gaze remained fixed on me.
Eyes that didn’t understand.
So I emphasized once more.
“You’re weak, and that’s why you’re an easy target.”
Finally, tears filled Senior Elsi’s blue eyes.
A blow that could shatter mountains.
True to its terrifying name, the “Collapse Mountain Strike” did not limit its effects to its immediate target. The aftermath rent the earth in a long trajectory.
The swordsman had flown off into the distance.
Having allowed such a powerful punch to hit him in midair. Normally, he would have been expected to roll on the ground multiple times before being thrown to a far-off place.
Yet, the man’s expression was still far from bright.
A slight tension was evident in the way he withdrew his fist. His golden eyes were focused on the clenched fist, reflecting the aftermath.
Overheated muscles evaporated sweat, releasing gentle steam. However, what the man focused on was not the fist.
It was the cut on his wrist.
As blood dripped from that wound, the man quietly shifted his gaze forward.
Yes, he knew.
This could not possibly end here.
The continent’s strongest swordsman lived up to that expectation without fail.
Just a moment.
It was merely the time needed until a cutting line crossed his vision.
Wood, rock, and even terrain were ineffective against that straight trajectory. It resembled a child’s playful scribble on a landscape painting.
Step by step.
In the distance, the sound of footsteps was accompanied by a languid voice.
“…1,404 times.”
It was then that the forest crumbled on either side.
It was a bizarre sight. How could the landscape be entirely severed and collapse sideways?
The forest was roaring, splitting apart like a crowd welcoming an emperor. The scene looked briefly like a curtain call for a stage announcing a new act.
And amidst the rising clouds of dust, a pair of glowing blue will-o’-the-wisps appeared.
It was a girl.
Her eyes radiated light even in darkness, revealing her excitement. Although she tried to maintain composure, she could not conceal her heated breath.
A few droplets of blood were smeared on the girl’s cheek.
It certainly couldn’t be her blood.
Wiping the blood from her cheek with her thumb, the monster grinned.
“After taking that much damage, I only managed to land a single hit… What a disgrace to the name of a swordsman.”
As she licked the blood off her thumb, the silent man finally spoke.
“…How did you survive?”
“I cut the space at the last moment. Just enough for you and me to drift apart… Yet, despite that, your punch came flying through, ripping through the gap. Truly, that man is quite mad about punching…”
Then what about you?
During that brief moment, you attacked over a thousand times and still had the energy to tear apart the last space?
The man suppressed such questions deep within.
There was not much time left. So he decided to ask only the essential questions.
“Should I go on?”
“Of course, I made you this worked up just to run away? Disappointing me, girl… unknown Master.”
Rarely in a good mood, the girl even hummed a tune.
Yet, the atmosphere suggested that she wouldn’t let him go that easily.
Though he knew this well, the man couldn’t help but issue a warning laced with a sigh.
“…From now on, it won’t just be the two of us.”
“But how can I hold back…? Huh? I’m too curious. What kind of lunatic created a monster that can connect the visions of both Masters?”
As she spoke, the swordsman slowly began to adjust his stance.
A definite shift in intent.
The man seemed to anticipate this, his face contorting with despair as he tightened his grip on the sword’s hilt.
He brought his remaining hand to his waist, grabbing the hand axe.
Then, silence.
The calm before the storm, the final peace before the clash of Masters.
The collision would not merely be a duel between individuals.
A storm of consequences capable of altering maps would follow.
It was exactly as the man said—this wouldn’t end with just the two of us.
There was no need for a battle of wills.
Now, only one exchange remained to clinch victory.
At last, the immense magical power surged forth.
It ignited like fire catching on dry straw. In an instant, the surrounding aura swept through, beginning to shake the world at its whim. Even as the wind roared and the ground trembled, the faces of the two swordsmen remained calm.
And just as the strength was about to build in their hands.
A sound of footsteps broke through the silence. Their startled gazes turned toward the source.
There stood a woman with a foolish expression on her face.
“What… hey…”
She was letting out a question full of despair.
At witnessing this, an expression of dismay suddenly appeared on both men’s faces.
It was the reappearance of the ‘Great Witch.’
