Kail, descending from upstream on the ridge, saw soldiers wildly swinging spears and swords at each other.
The soldiers swung their weapons as if they were avenging their parents. Even if they truly were avenging them, after a few swings, one would expect fatigue to set in, but the soldiers didn’t stop.
In the torrent of madness that seemed like it wouldn’t end until all had perished, Kail threw himself into the chaos.
“These bastards, are they all insane?”
Kail knocked out soldiers who swung their weapons at him while assessing the situation. Far away, Myungwol was similarly knocking out soldiers one by one—but just the two of them couldn’t possibly handle the entire battlefield.
If the task were simply to kill everyone, it would be easier. It might take a long time, but it was something that could eventually be done.
But saving both sides during a war was nearly impossible. Even an Aura Master’s superhuman abilities didn’t give them ten extra hands.
‘There’s something here.’
And Kail had seen such abnormal behavior before—during the academy’s cultural festival.
Though Ariah possessed extraordinary talent, he couldn’t say for certain there weren’t others with similar abilities.
“Dieeee─ Kehhh!”
After subduing a soldier charging at him with a sword, Kail infused him with holy energy.
Perhaps it was a curse caused by black magic? Unfortunately, the soldier showed no change and continued rampaging even after receiving the holy energy.
With a thud, Kail punched the soldier unconscious, then sighed deeply as he straightened his back.
“What now.”
Hundreds of soldiers remained standing; dozens were already dying from wounds inflicted by blades. No matter how quickly he and Myungwol solved problems, they couldn’t prevent dozens more deaths.
It seemed impossible to scare off soldiers driven mad by an Aura Master through brute force alone. Even if they defeated all the soldiers right now, there was no guarantee the same problem wouldn’t arise again.
“─Kail!”
“Huh? Myungwol, where are you…?”
“Hold them off for a moment!”
Myungwol locked eyes with Kail and dashed off somewhere, leaving the battlefield cleanup to Kail.
Kail, about to follow him, sighed deeply as he swung his fists at the charging soldiers, knights, and sorcerers.
“…Well, if I break their limbs first, they won’t be able to do anything.”
Kail drew his sword and turned it around, gripping the blade side.
Mordhau.
A grip technique using the sword as a blunt weapon.
Crack─!
“Aaargh!?”
“Gruh!”
With the sword as a club, Kail began smashing the soldiers’ limbs. Watching the soldiers crawling on the ground with broken arms and legs, Kail’s eyes started to glow.
“Come at me.”
Soon after, the sound of something breaking filled the battlefield.
* * *
‘It definitely came from this direction─.’
Myungwol, having left Kail behind on the battlefield, stopped when he realized the presence he felt earlier was nearby.
A sinister aura, somewhere between magical power and dark magic.
Something exuding an ominous energy stood before him.
“Show yourself.”
Myungwol unsheathed his sword as he spoke. His swift draw sliced through nearby trees, splitting those hiding behind them in half.
As piles of severed upper and lower bodies grew, Myungwol tracked the shadow that dodged his blade.
The figure who evaded his strike chuckled eerily beneath a suspicious robe.
“You tell me to come out and then swing your sword… how impatient you are.”
“How annoying.”
Hearing the voice, Myungwol frowned. It was a grotesque voice—neither male nor female. A monstrous sound akin to scraping metal against iron.
Without hesitation, Myungwol unsheathed his sword once more, not bothering to ask questions.
His lightning-fast draw slashed through the cloaked figures. Even Kail would have struggled to dodge such an extreme level of refined swordsmanship.
“Stop him.”
But the mysterious figures didn’t resist against the fatal technique. They simply charged blindly at his blade, as if throwing their lives away.
For a moment, Myungwol thought they might not know what an Aura Master was. Why else would they recklessly throw themselves at his invincible blade?
But that wasn’t it. As Myungwol piled up corpses, he suddenly froze, sensing an energy coursing through his heart.
“Wha, what…”
“─You ignorant swordsman. Did you think this world belonged to you forever?”
The robed figure spoke, tossing aside the robe. Seeing the face revealed beneath, Myungwol felt his heart stop.
It was a face he knew well.
“Hye-ah… why are you…”
“Brother.”
His lover. The one he loved most. But this wasn’t some cliché twist where his lover crossed the sea to cause trouble on a distant continent.
She had died years ago. Myungwol himself had buried her body. He couldn’t forget even if he wanted to. Though he’d heard of necromancers who manipulated corpses, this clearly wasn’t the case.
To Myungwol, there was no doubt—it was Hye-ah herself, alive.
“But you definitely died back then.”
“I’ll die again. By your hand.”
“What? What are you─”
Before he could finish, Myungwol’s hand moved on its own. He furrowed his brow, staring at his uncontrollable hand.
His body moved without his consent—an impossibility for an Aura Master who could control every cell of his body with precision.
That hand gripped the sword hilt, and his body assumed a stance honed over a lifetime. Myungwol instinctively realized what would happen next.
“No─.”
Before he could finish saying “stop,” his blade slashed across her neck.
Even fellow Masters found it hard to block his lightning-fast draw.
Once praised by the Eastern King, the technique unfolded, and the woman he loved collapsed like a broken doll.
“Hye-ah, Hye-ah! Ah, aaaah─!”
The sorrow of losing his beloved again.
The helplessness of cutting her down with his own hands.
All of it ignited a single emotion.
Anger.
“Huff, huff─ finally caught up.”
Kail, arriving late, tilted his head at Myungwol trembling as he gripped the sword hilt.
“Huh, what happened─.”
Snick─.
Kail instinctively stepped back, frowning as he glanced at his severed nose bridge. A chilling pain coursed across his face.
Using the last remnants of his divine mark to heal the wound, Kail wiped the blood off his nose and glared at Myungwol.
“What’s the meaning of this?”
No answer came. Myungwol silently sheathed his sword.
But even without words, Kail understood what had transpired.
“What made you so angry?”
Myungwol’s twisted face radiated anger.
Dies Irae.
Sing of wrath.
Feeling the murderous intent prickling his skin, Kail smirked as he drew his sword.
“Our first meeting ended rather blandly, didn’t it?”
Myungwol said nothing, gripping his sword hilt. Kail did the same.
Moments later, the two Masters clashed.
* * *
A rolling head on the ground moved on its own, looking toward its body.
“Body, come here.”
Flick─.
“…How audacious.”
The head cursed at the body that dared flick its finger at it, then rolled toward its torso.
Successfully reuniting with its body, the mysterious figure adjusted its slightly crooked head and watched the battle between the two Aura Masters.
True to their nickname, Sword Stars, the fight resembled two colliding stars.
Watching the shimmering Aura blades reflecting in the air, anyone would think the same.
“I want it…”
She began to covet the Aura Blade emitted by the Aura Masters—the shining blade itself.
To obtain it, she’d need the physical form of an Aura Master—one of the two must completely overpower the other and collapse powerless before her.
Realistically, it was impossible. If she had the strength to dominate such powerful Aura Masters, she wouldn’t resort to manipulating them into infighting—she’d simply rush in, beat both, and achieve her goal.
‘No choice.’
Though tempted, greed wasn’t her domain.
Interfering in another’s realm would be unwise.
Deciding either victor would suffice, she watched the fierce battle unfold.
Truly, it was a spectacle even the Emperor of the Empire might never witness.
