Chapter 423

Book 1 Chapter 423

423.

Luke’s gaze immediately tracked the path of the blade Aina pulled free.

Clang—!

With urgency, Luke deflected the strike directed squarely at his throat.

‘Incredible speed.’

The top student representing the freshmen.

The velocity and precision of Aina’s blade far exceeded Luke’s expectations.

Furthermore, that was only the beginning.

Clash!

Their weapons collided, ringing out with a sharp, metallic resonance.

‘There’s more to it.’

The swiftness of the golden arcs slicing through the air continued to accelerate.

Her blade, refined entirely for the purpose of cutting down her target, sent a cold shiver straight down Luke’s spine.

Clang! Clash! Ping! Thud—!

It was not merely a matter of velocity and sharpness.

With every successive strike she unleashed, the momentum backing Aina’s weapon grew heavier.

That increasing weight soon transformed into a devastating, destructive force.

Boom—!

“Urgh!”

The sheer force of Aina’s sweeping strike tore Luke’s blade off course.

In an instant, Aina lunged directly into Luke’s exposed front.

Gathering his internal energy, Luke forced his deflected weapon back onto a proper trajectory and swung hard toward Aina.

Whish—!

As a silver streak cut through the air, Aina utilized an aura step to evade the incoming blade.

Luke’s counter missed her by a hair’s breadth.

For a split second, Aina’s balance was completely compromised.

‘This is my opening to strike back!’

Having spent the entire exchange desperately defending against Aina’s breath-taking velocity, Luke finally spotted a chance to seize the offensive momentum.

Yet, just as he prepared to close the distance, Luke’s gaze locked onto Aina’s.

Her expression remained completely serene, as it always did.

The moment he witnessed those tranquil, almost peaceful eyes, Luke felt goosebumps erupt across his entire skin.

Instinctively, Luke threw himself backward to maximize the distance between them.

“What happened?”

“Wasn’t that the perfect moment to counterattack?”

The first-year spectators whispered among themselves, utterly bewildered as to why Luke would abandon an offensive opening he had fought so hard to obtain.

“What a missed opportunity!”

Illiana yelled, burying her face in her hands.

Chelsea cast a look of utter pity toward Illiana.

“Wait, what just happened?”

Lea, completely unable to follow the high-speed tactical exchange, questioned them with a bewildered expression.

“Had Luke chosen to press the attack just now, the bout would have concluded instantly.”

Eiran stepped in to gently clarify the unfolding situation for Lea.

Luke wiped away the cold perspiration running down his jawline.

‘I managed to break her balance. However, she anticipated my exact timing for a counteroffensive perfectly.’

Close-quarters engagement between warriors is ultimately a precise manipulation of distance.

Even the most spectacular forms or devastating strikes become entirely useless the moment the opponent accurately measures the range of the attack.

Naturally, reading an adversary’s spacing is an incredibly difficult feat.

This is because the optimal distance shifts continuously based on the chosen offensive patterns throughout a duel.

Yet, Aina had successfully mapped out that exact spacing within their brief opening exchange.

Even with her posture broken, she was fully prepared to evade the moment he launched an assault.

‘If I had advanced, I would have walked straight into a decisive blow.’

Her apparently broken stance was merely a calculated snare meant to lure him into a vulnerable position.

Taking a deep breath, Luke adjusted his grip on his hilt.

Aina leveled her blade, keeping her eyes fixed on Luke.

The moment Aina took a single forward step, her form vanished into thin air.

Luke swung his weapon to the right in sheer desperation.

Boom—!

Luke managed to intercept the strike heavily reinforced with tremendous energy, but the overwhelming momentum proved too much to withstand, sending him tumbling backward across the dirt.

“Cough!”

Scrambling back to his feet immediately, Luke reassumed his defensive stance.

By then, Aina had already closed the gap to his immediate flank, bringing her blade down once more.

‘I cannot afford to block this directly.’

His palms felt entirely numb, and a sharp ache radiated through his wrist.

It was blindingly obvious that matching her blows directly would only lead to his swift defeat.

He needed to find a way to deflect the incoming trajectory and disperse the impact.

Clang—!

Once more, their blades collided violently, and Luke was sent skidding backward.

‘I can’t even redirect the force!’

What had earned Aina the title of first-year representative during their initial term was indeed the unmatched speed and raw power behind her strikes.

However, her true underlying strength extended far beyond those attributes.

It lay within her fundamental swordsmanship.

As the direct descendant of the legendary Sword Saint, Aina’s martial forms had been meticulously polished since her earliest youth, making her technical ability utterly overwhelming.

Even when Luke attempted to redirect her momentum, Aina’s superior execution completely shut down his efforts.

Power, velocity, and flawless execution.

Aina was a warrior who commanded every single attribute perfectly.

‘What choice do I have left?’

Luke ground his teeth together.

Remaining on the defensive would guarantee his loss.

He locked his wide, focused eyes onto Aina as she closed the distance with terrifying swiftness.

‘If I simply wait for her approach or try to back away, I will only be torn apart by Aina-ssi’s blade.’

Luke dropped his center of gravity into a low stance.

‘If that is the case.’

Whoosh—!

Luke propelled himself off the earth, launching a direct charge straight toward Aina.

Aina’s eyes widened slightly in brief astonishment.

Approaching her like a streak of silver light, Luke initiated the assault by swinging his blade first.

Boom—!

‘I managed to strike first—’

“Ugh?”

The instant their weapons met, Luke was forcefully thrown through the air, crashing heavily onto the ground.

A wave of mocking laughter broke out among the first-year students who identified as part of Aina’s inner circle.

“How incredibly foolish. Did he honestly believe a reckless charge would accomplish anything?”

“What a pathetic display!”

“He only managed to reach the semifinals through sheer luck, and now his true capabilities are finally being exposed.”

Belonging to Aina’s faction and considering themselves the elite of the first-year class, they simply refused to recognize the rapid ascent of Luke, who had originally entered as the lowest-ranked student of their academic year.

Yet, entirely detached from their mocking commentary, Aina’s gaze trembled slightly as she looked down at Luke.

Luke was actually grinning.

‘What manner of person is this guy?’

Celia displayed an expression of sheer bewilderment.

“Is he simply reckless? Or does he possess extraordinary tactical perception?”

“A combination of both, most likely.”

Celia nodded slowly in understanding at Leo’s assessment.

“That makes sense.”

While a segment of the freshmen failed to comprehend the logic behind Luke’s sudden charge at Aina, the upperclassmen viewed the exchange quite differently.

They could clearly see that Luke had successfully minimized the maximum force contained within Aina’s swing.

“To deliberately charge forward to intercept an attack before it can fully accelerate requires incredible split-second judgment. It is highly commendable.”

“His observational skills have always been exceptional,” Leo remarked, keeping his eyes glued to the unfolding duel. “His capacity to meticulously analyze others and internalize whatever elements he requires is truly remarkable.”

In that fleeting fraction of a second, his instincts had guided him to the single viable method to contest Aina’s offense.

“Aina must be quite unsettled right now.” Leo let out a soft chuckle. “Even as we speak, Luke is steadily closing the gap between them.”

Boom—! Clang!

The blade, radiating a brilliant golden aura, targeted Luke relentlessly.

Luke’s silver energy rose to parry Aina’s opposing force.

‘Her movements are still accelerating.’

Aina’s focus wavered noticeably as she observed Luke beginning to adapt and react to her offensive patterns.

‘Even over the course of this single bout, he is growing stronger.’

Aina ground her teeth together in frustration.

This entire final examination had been an absolute nightmare for her.

Right from her very first match, she had been forced to contend with Juan.

While she had naturally anticipated a straightforward path to victory, Aina had barely managed to secure the win.

In truth, she couldn’t even bring herself to view it as a genuine triumph.

The persistent dread that she might never earn Leo’s true acknowledgment continued to plague her thoughts, causing her focus to waver drastically throughout the practical exams.

She was constantly haunted by the suffocating realization that Juan, Havidan, and Sasha—individuals she had previously viewed as lagging behind her—might soon eclipse her completely and leave her behind.

Amidst these mounting anxieties, Aina finally understood the root cause of why she had deliberately dismissed and kept her distance from Luke ever since their enrollment.

‘I was genuinely terrified of Luke Elder.’

On the day she was passed over for recognition by Leo Flov while Luke received it, Aina had fully discerned Luke’s staggering latent potential.

Her deeper instincts had warned her that he would eventually narrow the distance between them in the near future.

And now, Luke was actively striving to stand on equal footing right beside her.

Aina experienced a turbulent surge of emotion at that stark reality.

A single, distinct sentiment began to surface within her heart, which had previously been occupied by nothing short of a desire for vengeance.

‘I refuse to suffer defeat.’

She could not entirely comprehend why this sudden stubbornness was rising within her.

Yet, Aina was absolutely unwilling to lose to Luke at this exact moment.

Flash—!

A brilliant golden radiance ignited within Aina’s eyes.

Rumble—!

The golden aura erupting from Aina’s frame surged upward toward the heavens like a massive pillar of light.

The fluctuating energy condensed intensely at the very edge of her blade.

—Oh! Look at that!

Runba, delivering the live commentary, bellowed out with immense excitement.

Beside him, Mel chimed in with a low, reverent murmur.

—That is the legendary technique of the Sword Saint.

A definitive strike engineered to embody absolute righteousness, representing the noble and principled warrior who had defined an entire era by swinging his blade in defense of what was just—a monumental hero of his time.

“Justitia.”

Aina confronted Luke by unleashing the most powerful offensive manifestation she could possibly summon.

‘Please, stop pursuing me!’

Gritting her teeth tightly, she screamed out in her mind as she channeled every ounce of her strength, bringing her blade down in a sweeping arc.

Witnessing the massive golden strike descending upon him, Luke felt a sudden chill run across his entire body.

‘Breathtaking.’

Rumerne truly housed nothing but extraordinary individuals.

People so profoundly gifted that no matter how desperately one struggled to catch up, the distance always felt insurmountable.

‘Do I truly possess what it takes to stand alongside such individuals?’

His heartbeat accelerated wildly.

His consciousness trembled with intensity.

‘Can I bridge this gap… and actually stand on the exact same stage?’

He lacked a definitive answer.

However, during his tenure as Leo’s apprentice, he had internalized one fundamental truth.

‘Even if you taste despair a thousand times, collide with your absolute boundaries, suffer countless setbacks, and lower your head in defeat.’

A brilliant silver radiance erupted fiercely from Luke’s body.

‘If you refuse to surrender, push past your perceived limitations, and hold your head high.’

A sharp silver light flashed within his eyes.

‘An even greater version of myself was waiting!’

His internal mana amplified exponentially as his magical reserves surged violently.

Luke activated his absolute signature magic.

‘Transcendence!’

For a single, fleeting instance.

A spell capable of forcing one’s capabilities a step beyond their natural boundaries into a desired realm of power.

Utilizing the sheer momentum of that magic, Luke exerted himself completely.

“Haaahhhhh-aahp!”

Flash—!

For a brief microsecond, he succeeded in elevating himself to the exact same tier of power as Aina.

The silver arc of his counterstrike sliced cleanly through the descending golden blade, severing its momentum.

Rumble—!

The immediate terrain surrounding Luke, who had successfully weathered Aina’s ultimate assault, was completely pulverized.

A dense cloud of debris and dust billowed into the air.

In the center of the devastation, Luke ground his teeth against the strain.

“Kh-h-h?!”

As the direct consequence of temporarily tapping into such an immense, forbidden reservoir of power, the muscles in his arm throbbed in absolute agony.

‘Not yet! I can still push further!’

He forcefully suppressed the overwhelming pain racking his body.

‘If Aina-ssi is the warrior I know her to be, she won’t be brought down by a single exchange. She will undoubtedly press forward with another strike!’

Yet, just as Luke braced himself to meet her next assault, the billowing dust began to settle.

Through the clearing air, he watched as Aina allowed her weapon to slip from her grasp.

“The victory belongs to you, Luke Elder.”

Luke’s expression froze in absolute bewilderment.

“That previous strike represented the absolute pinnacle of my strength. Since you successfully neutralized it, I have lost the match.”

Luke’s eyes wavered with confusion as he stared at Aina, who spoke in a thoroughly defeated tone.

“Why… why are you throwing in the towel?”

“What?”

“You are still entirely capable of continuing this fight.”

Luke’s face twisted into an expression of utter incomprehension.

“As I stated, I have reached my absolute limit.”

“You still possess the physical strength required to swing your blade. How can you possibly claim you are at your limit?” Luke demanded, his brow furrowing deeply.

Staring back at him, Aina offered a deeply self-deprecating response.

“The final result is already predetermined regardless. There is absolutely no purpose in desperately struggling to secure a win for someone like me.”

Hearing her words steeped in total despair and a fractured spirit, Luke echoed back, “Someone like Aina-ssi?”

Luke clenched his teeth in mounting frustration.

Leo had explicitly instructed Luke to claim the position of first-year representative.

Would there be any genuine honor or worth in securing that title through a default victory like this?

‘Absolutely not.’

Luke balled his hand into a tight fist.

“Aina-ssi is an incredibly phenomenal martial artist. That is the precise reason why Juan throws himself into every challenge against you with everything he has, desperately trying to best you, isn’t it?”

“I am nowhere near as exceptional as you believe me to be.”

Despite his words, Aina merely maintained her melancholic, defeated smile.

“And my strength is already entirely spent. Therefore, you have won—”

“Then push past your limitations! What do you think that says about the person who gritted his teeth and pushed himself to the absolute brink using you as his ultimate goal?!”

Aina visibly recoiled at Luke’s sudden, passionate outburst.

“It is precisely because you are an extraordinary person that I have desperately chased after your shadow! It is because you are so incredible that I want to earn a proper victory against you! If you simply abandon the fight like this, what does that make of all my past efforts, where I aimed for your level and worked myself to the bone?! If you intend to throw in the towel so easily, then compensate me for every ounce of my grueling hardship before you quit!”

Luke, whose eyes had grown completely bloodshot as he watched Aina indulge in self-pity, let out a furious roar.

Aina displayed a genuinely startled expression as she looked at Luke’s intense demeanor.

“H-how could I possibly compensate you for…”

“There is absolutely no way you ever could!”

‘T-this is terrifying.’

Aina instinctively took a step back, thoroughly unsettled by the sight of Luke, whose eyes burned with sheer resentment as the accumulated frustrations of his past training exploded outward entirely because of her current attitude.

The remaining dust finally cleared away.

Fixing his gaze squarely on Aina, Luke spoke firmly.

“If your ultimate choice is to turn and run away, then at the very least, give me everything you have before you make your escape.”

Luke firmly readjusted his grip on his hilt.

Aina looked down at the weapon in her hand, then looked back up at Luke.

‘Grandfather, did you ever experience moments where you simply wanted to abandon everything and run away?’

‘Countless times.’

Chuckling warmly, the legendary Sword Saint Kallian had gently ruffled his direct descendant’s hair.

‘But you triumphed over all of those moments, right? Because Grandfather is the legendary Sword Saint.’

‘No. In truth, I ran away on several occasions.’

Kallian, who had absolutely no qualms about shattering his granddaughter’s idealistic childhood perceptions, merely stroked his long beard and offered the grin of a mischievous old man.

With a thoroughly stunned expression, Aina had stared up at Kallian.

‘However,’ Kallian had added, his expression softening into a gentle smile. ‘I never simply turned my back and fled. I only chose to walk away after I had exhausted every single ounce of my strength and challenged my absolute boundaries repeatedly. If all of those ultimate efforts still proved insufficient, only then did I walk away.’

Gently taking his granddaughter’s hand, Kallian told her, ‘Aina. Provided you have genuinely offered your absolute best, you are entirely free to walk away whenever you must. Because after that, you simply return to challenge that boundary once more.’

As those distant memories flooded back into her consciousness, Aina firmly gripped her hilt.

‘Grandfather.’

‘The entire flow of the arena has shifted.’

Leo, who was intently monitoring their duel from the stands, watched with gleaming eyes.

‘An impressive change… he has truly begun to develop the gaze of a genuine hero candidate.’

Leo, who had been softly chuckling while focusing on Aina, momentarily allowed his expression to turn completely neutral before returning to his relaxed demeanor.

With a fluid motion, Leo rose from his seat.

“Where are you heading?” Celia questioned, displaying a thoroughly perplexed expression.

Turning to Celia with a brief smile, Leo replied, “I need to step away for just a moment.”

Leaving her with those brief words, he exited the viewing stands.

A distinct, unmistakable presence could be detected manifesting not far from their location.

A sharp crimson light flashed within Leo’s eyes.

It was an incredibly suppressed, faint trace of energy.

However, Leo recognized the definitive signature of this particular power with absolute clarity.

‘The Lich King.’