Chapter 127. Supreme Perfection!
Parun’s mansion, squarely arranged around the central training hall.
Standing in the middle of the hall, Shine alternated her gaze between me and Professor Parun.
“What shall we do? It would surely be better if I had an opponent…”
A distinctly insolent look.
Though she seemed to be addressing Parun, it was obvious she had me in mind.
‘What a petty creature.’
She still hadn’t forgotten her grudge from the 4th Base Camp.
That so-called duel(?) back then had been a fair contest in every sense, both of us mobilizing every ounce of strength… even our connections.
How could someone be so narrow-minded…?
‘Well, I suppose there’s no helping it.’
I stretched and rolled my body, itching for movement, then stepped forward. Conveniently, I had just acquired a new technique called Blink. I too had been in need of a suitable opponent.
Above all else… is the circle.
Since leaving the Great Forest, I had been constructing it, and only recently had it become complete. But, embarrassingly enough after loosening up my joints, my chance to step in never came.
“Then, I shall be your opponent.”
“Oh? You, you say?”
“As it happens, I have obtained a rather useful artifact.”
It was a surprising sight in many ways. Not just because Parun’s speech carried a rare courtesy.
That high-nosed Parun showing respect to someone was shocking enough, but what startled me more was the light in his eyes.
‘…A fighting spirit?’
Yes.
In Parun’s gaze, as he strode toward the center of the hall, there was the gleam of competitive desire.
‘Did Parun have this side to him?’
Of course, it wasn’t as if I knew him all that well.
Still, the image I had of Parun and the concept of competitive spirit were worlds apart. Even as I marveled at this unexpected side of him, their conversation continued.
“Then prepare yourself.”
“Very well…”
Instead of speaking further, Parun undid his tightly fastened jacket.
Clink!
From within, metallic spheres spilled forth.
Eight spheres. Each about the size of a child’s fist. They floated around Parun, as if possessing will of their own, though on closer inspection it was clear he was controlling them.
I narrowed my eyes, taking in the sight.
‘What in the world are they for?’
Controlling eight separate spheres individually was no easy feat.
A normal mage would struggle with even two. Granted, with Parun’s multitasking ability it might not be so difficult…
‘But is the effort really worth it?’
I had never seen such artifacts before, so it was impossible to judge their true value. Likely, they served as magical support…
“Are you ready?”
“Yes.”
Floating with the metallic spheres orbiting him, Parun’s reply reverberated across the hall.
“Then, I look forward to a good duel.”
“The same to you.”
No more words were needed.
Nor were any of the minute rules that would usually govern a friendly spar, such as how much power to release. Both were at a level where they could freely restrain or unleash their strength.
“Then shall I give the signal?”
“……”
“……”
Neither answered, but silence was consent.
‘Good. Then I too shall watch closely.’
There were two points of interest.
First, how much strength Shine had recovered after becoming a vampire. The success of this venture depended on the extent of her regained power.
‘Well, she has solid fundamentals, so she should manage at least decently…’
The second point was Parun’s precise level.
During the incident with Kala-hen, the environment had prevented him from displaying his full might.
With these thoughts, I shot a glowing orb into the air.
Pong!
The orb drifted upward like a dandelion puff, floating between the two.
Bang!
The orb burst apart and the battle began.
“Hoo… haah!”
The first strike was Shine’s.
* * *
It was meant as a simple test, yet Shine had no intention of wasting this opportunity.
‘My body’s been itching for this.’
She had fought countless battles even in the Great Forest of Hamern, but this was different from when she had been a Death Knight. She now possessed a body.
The sensation of breath entering and leaving her lungs was vivid, her chest expanding and contracting, muscles writhing under her will. How far could this body follow her intent?
Her living flesh had once been a masterpiece sculpted by the gods themselves.
As she thought, her body moved. As her body moved, her thoughts followed. A perfect harmony of mind and flesh, supreme, innate balance.
“Hoo… haah!”
She began with a light sword strike. But to the recipient, it was far from light.
Whiiiiish!
The sharp whistle of cleaving air rang out as the cheap iron blade cut through space.
Good. A smile curled Shine’s lips, though only for that brief moment.
Zzzrrrrrt!
Chchchchchch!
The metallic spheres screamed like cicadas, spewing forth. Along the sword’s trajectory, dozens of force fields rose and blocked the slash.
As her sword slowed and became trapped in the barrier, Shine’s smile only deepened.
At first, she had wondered what gave him such confidence.
‘Closing distance… against a knight?’
In a duel, one would expect a mage to keep far away. Yet Parun had not. Their separation was barely ten paces. A long stretch for some, but for a knight like Shine, a single breath’s leap.
His earlier defense now explained his confidence, but the thought did not last long.
Zrrrt zrrt!
Again, the metallic shriek.
Chchch!
The sword blade locked fast in a tight barrier. Shine strained, but the stuck sword would not budge.
A white flash exploded the next instant.
Kwooooom—!
A blast of cold. Not once, but eightfold. Layer upon layer of freezing torrents engulfed her.
Though she raised her ether in defense against the impact, the cold gnawed into her bones. Truly troublesome. And yet…
“…!”
She realized something else.
Crack! Crack!
The earth surged up, shackling her ankles. No, her entire lower body, as solid stone encased her like growing ice.
And more.
Whiiirrr! Krrrk, krrrk!
A sudden storm of icy winds slashed at her body, dozens of blades in the air. At last Shine wrenched her cheap blade free.
Perfect… exactly what she wanted. Even though she was bound, she was able to slash.
Could one cut wind with a sword? Impossible. Wind was not something to be cut. But—
Slash, slash, slashslashslash!
In an instant, dozens of strikes tore through space. Shine’s sword cut the blades of wind. No, more than cut, stabbed, ripped, shredded the weave of the air until it was dispersed.
Even Parun could not hide his astonishment. How could a sword without ether scatter blades of wind? And not mere breezes, but spells, each wind blade was a discrete spell.
Eight Heart. Eightfold overlapping magic, powered by eight artifacts. And yet Shine shattered it, even with her lower body bound. This was beyond mastery, an art that transcended realm.
And then, to say… what?
“Seems the warm-up is over.”
“…”
Parun gave no reply. But he did curve his lips faintly upward.
Just as Shine had not yet coated her sword in ether, he too had yet to reveal his full strength.
Crack!
Barely five seconds of lull ended as Shine broke free of the earthen shackles.
Boom!
“…Khuk!”
A crushing blow struck Parun’s chest. He spat blood. The ether-charged blade had grazed his solar plexus.
Though he stacked barrier upon barrier to block, the impact was heavy. Yet there was no time to hesitate.
Zrrrt, zrrrt!
“Trying that trick again, are you?”
As he retreated, crash! his stacked shields shattered. Shine’s figure darted after him like an arrow.
The mage fled, the knight pursued. A spectacle of flawless skill.
Crunch, crack! Slice!
Earthen spikes jutted up, ice crystals sprouted, lightning arced. Three elements at once, his multitasking astounding. Any normal mage would have spat blood, yet Shine was no less formidable.
She slashed, thrust, deflected. Every movement smooth as flowing water, devoid of excess.
Each strike pierced the core of a spell.
Chaaang—!
Lightning crashed down.
Flash!
Sword-light flared.
Rumble—!
Earth surged like a tidal wave, but she tore space itself apart.
No longer a mere test, a slip from either meant death, heads lopped off, limbs blown apart. There was no killing intent, yet intentions meant nothing. The danger was real.
And yet, why?
‘More, more…’
Shine’s eyes gleamed, her flushed face breaking into a deeper smile.
It was joy, how long she had yearned for this.
The sword was not merely swung. True swordsmanship was born of body’s breath and mind’s resonance, a creation of perfect union.
Shhhhk!
Whish!
A sharp ice spike grazed her cheek. She laughed, stepping forward. She had seen the spike, decided to evade, and her body had moved.
The margin she sought was but a hair. Yet at 0.01mm error, blood sprayed.
So she adjusted.
Chaaang—!
Lightning struck again. Shine’s blade cut the sky, cleaving the bolt and holding it, ready to unleash it back.
Crackle!
“…Aaaack! Aaaah.”
She had absorbed the lightning, but her ether failed to control it. This too was the gap between body and mind.
Again, she adjusted. Adjusted, adjusted, adjusted, adjusted… Endless corrections.
And with each margin no more than a hair’s breadth from life and death.
Yet Shine pressed on without fear of death, endlessly aligning herself.
Strictly speaking, not aligning mind to body. Rather, aligning the mind once fit to her former body with her present one.
Whish!
Another ice spike grazed her cheek.
Error: 0.001mm.
Thoom!
A blizzard swept, ice shards scything the ground, lightning crawling through the crystals.
Shine, entranced, felt every shard as she swung ceaselessly.
The errors shrank. From 0.001mm to 0.0001mm. Smaller, smaller, endlessly smaller… Until at last the gap approached zero.
A shiver surged through her whole being. Bloodied face alight with rapture, Shine smiled.
This body too was…
‘Supreme perfection!’
Her laughter overflowed in pure ecstasy.
