I Tried To Be Her Loyal Sword

---

47 Chapter

Bang!

A surge of mana so intense it raised goosebumps on my neck. The once dark, windy training ground became shrouded in a bloody mist. An aura as red as Caesar’s own eyes raged around him. His gaze flickered with lethal intent.

Right before me stood an opponent who could match me.

My body instinctively tensed up.

“I’m excited.”

However, despite my body being on high alert, my heart was pumping adrenaline, heightening the thrill and excitement. I hadn’t felt this exhilarating in ages. I swept my bangs aside and grinned as brightly as I could.

“Then I shall see your strength, Father.”

With those taunting words, Caesar responded with a haughty smile. There was no need for long speeches between swords.

Crash! Crash! Crash!

We conversed through our blades.

As the swords of two swordmasters clashed, the entire area shook. I reveled in the noise and vibration, crazily swinging my sword with a mad grin plastered on my face.

“Oh, this is good.”

I realized I might be overly thrilled. But this was a duel against an opponent whose skills matched mine for the first time since becoming a swordmaster; it was hard to contain my excitement. Caesar was hardly any different, laughing like a lunatic.

At this moment of swordplay, we resembled each other more than ever. As beings beyond regular comprehension, we were each other’s only understanding.

Clang! Clash! Bang!

The speed of our swords colliding increased. Before long, the speed became so fast for ordinary eyes that it was nearly invisible.

Objectively speaking, I was at a disadvantage. However, while Caesar was at least going through the motions of defensive actions, I committed solely to attack, making it hard for a conclusion to come easily.

“Damn it! Would it kill you to defend a little?!”

Caesar shouted urgently, yanking his sword back just as he narrowly grazed my side. It didn’t matter to me; I thrust my blade toward his thigh. Caesar hurriedly parried my attack.

The reason he hadn’t defeated me yet, despite clearly being the superior fighter, was his hesitation to truly strike me. He must have known that with my entire body wrapped in mana, I wouldn’t be seriously injured even if he pierced me, yet every time he aimed to strike, he faltered and pulled back.

And that was Caesar’s downfall.

“I’ll finish this in one go.”

I shook my head to throw off the sweat droplets that were clinging to me like distractions and readied my final attack.

My legs were trembling already. In a prolonged fight, I would definitely be at a disadvantage; I had to end it here.

“How can I win this?”

I attempted to strike at Caesar’s ankle but failed, pulling back slightly and biting my lip. My competitive spirit blazed within me. I absolutely, positively wanted to win.

“Pushing forward won’t work. I lack pure strength. My skills aren’t enough either. How am I supposed to defeat someone stronger than me? How did I defeat the monsters that were so much stronger all this time?”

I pushed myself, racking my brain until a sudden thought struck me.

“Give a little to gain a lot.”

That was the strategy I had employed to face dangers I couldn’t handle.

Having decided on sacrifice, there was no room for hesitation. With a smile still lacing my lips, I shifted from my somewhat slow yet powerful attack pattern to a rapid flurry of speed-focused assaults. Caesar, seemingly trying to ascertain my intentions, squinted but kept up well with my increased speed.

“Just a bit more, more!”

As my strength dwindled, my speed grew; I raised the tempo in several small bursts of speed that felt like strategic breakthroughs.

A dance of blades followed as we took turns narrowly missing each other’s flesh, slicing hair and ripping clothing. My body, struggling to keep up with a swordmaster’s speed, ached but did not stop.

In transcendental speed, the actual blades became indiscernible, leaving only a whirlwind of winds swirling between Caesar and me.

“Damn it, you…”

I dropped my sword.

When one of the swords, burdened with immense power, was swung low, Caesar’s sword lost its target at that critical moment and rushed towards my shoulder, unable to halt the momentum of his swing.

As his blade lunged to pierce my shoulder, instead of dodging, I charged forward.

Thwack!

With a chilling sound, my left shoulder was punctured. My body was swathed in mana, so I would likely escape broken bones, but it felt like the blade went in quite deep.

The red blood dripping from my shoulder stained the ground as Caesar’s sword tip turned crimson.

“I’ve won.”

My sword’s tip was precisely aimed at Caesar’s neck.

“I did it!”

Pain and all, it didn’t matter to me. What was important was that I had seized Caesar’s nape first. My flushed face betrayed my excitement as I grinned widely.

“You crazy bastard!”

And then, a flurry of pink hair obscured my view.

With a massive crashing sound that reverberated across the training ground, Caesar’s face was slapped aside. Aria, with tears in her eyes, furiously slapped Caesar’s cheek and then began to kick his shins furiously as if she couldn’t calm down.

“Uh…?”

I stood there, dazed, unable to process the chaotic scene before me, while a furious-looking Kal pressed forward.

“Are you insane? What’s wrong with you? Why on earth did you charge in like that? You didn’t care about the people worried for you at all!”

Kal shot accusing words at me in furious tones. Bewildered by the sudden verbal barrage, I tilted my head in confusion.

“I… I did really well, didn’t I? I won, so…”

“You crazy… seriously!”

Slap!

My head was jerked sideways. It didn’t hurt, but the shock of who had struck me left me gaping.

A tearful Aria was the one whose hand had found its way to my face.

“Ah, Aria…?”

“Hey! Are you out of your mind?”

“What?”

Hearing Aria call me ‘you’ for the first time took my breath away. Standing before me was Aria, really angry for the first time in ages.

“I told you to stop! I told you to knock it off!”

Unable to control her rage, she repeated that command over and over. I remained blank-faced, unable to grasp the situation.

“I… didn’t hear…”

“I told you! I told you! I asked you to cut it out in the middle!”

It seemed I had gotten so focused that I heard nothing. Aria, tears streaming down her face, started hitting my unharmed shoulder. It was only then that I came back to my senses and looked around.

The training ground was a mess from my duel with Caesar. I was bleeding from my shoulder, my hair and clothes were severed and torn, while Kal inspected my injury with a face that resembled a demon crawling out of hell. Aria glared at me, as if she wanted to hang me upside down from the balcony.

Caesar stood frozen, still holding my bloodied sword, the casual demeanor he usually carried had been replaced with an expression of shock.

His usual lethargic eyes had turned bewildered, and his previously dull face was set in a grim, tight expression. The hand holding the sword trembled violently.

Caesar, the proud and unfeeling red sword demon, Caesar Chrisis, was now filled with fear because of me.

Although I hadn’t spent a long time with Caesar, it was certainly a look I’d never seen before, and likely never would again.

“Hah! So, is this how you fought all the time? Did you just charge in like a mad dog without thinking about your body? Is that why you always came back in such a sorry state?”

Aria yanked at my collar. Dazed by Aria’s excessive agitation, I stared at her blankly.

Yeah. That had been me. I had fought like this all my life. I survived by giving up my flesh, grew through blood and trials. Becoming a calamity soaked in blood, I killed the other calamities.

“But I hoped you wouldn’t have to know about such a life.”

I felt my eyes moisten helplessly, furrowing my brow. I carefully took Aria’s hands in mine.

“So, um… I didn’t really learn how to use the sword properly, so all I know how to do is attack and charge forward. That’s why, it wasn’t my intention to worry you. I’m just too ignorant.”

“Why the hell are you ignorant? It’s that bastard’s fault!”

As I soothingly tried to calm Aria, for some reason, she only grew angrier and started pointing fingers at Caesar. Even Kal shot daggers at him with her eyes. As the atmosphere turned overly heated, I felt confused, and suddenly, warm arms enveloped me.

“… Your Grace?”

I faltered, calling him ‘Your Grace’ instead of just ‘Father’ in my bewilderment.

Our bodies touched, trembling slightly. The cold sweat dripping off Caesar tickled my neck. He hugged me tightly, ignoring the blood from my shoulder staining his white dress shirt.

“Never, never again shall I allow you to harm yourself with your own hands.”

Caesar’s voice quivered with emotion. At that moment, I realized my mistake. He held me for a while before pushing me back gently to face him.

My bangs were damp from sweat. His lips trembled. His red eyes were wet with despair.

He was scared.

“Just don’t. Don’t do anything, really. Please don’t get hurt. When faced with danger, run and defend! What on earth were you thinking charging in!? I would lose every time and a hundred times over if it meant you’d be safe, please, please…”

Once again, I found myself wrapped in Caesar’s embrace. From the trembling arms that held me, from the cool sweat flowing down, I realized that, strangely, he truly loved me.

“Don’t get hurt, please…”

I softly closed my eyes in his warm embrace. Slowly, I wrapped my arms around Caesar. In response to that pleading voice, I had only one possible answer.

“… Yes, Father.”

Blood flowed from my shoulder, and my entire body ached, yet my heart felt warm.

The feeling of being loved brought a smile to my face without deliberation.

Wham.

“Wow…”

I gasped as light spread across my shoulder. For the first time, I felt the fairy’s healing power. Something like divine magic, yet different in sensation, tingled pleasantly on my shoulder.

“That’s quite the reaction coming from you in a situation like this. Do you want to get flattened like a waffle or something?”

I quickly shut my mouth at his frosty tone. I felt a chill down my spine from his glaring cold gaze and broke out in a cold sweat, glancing around furtively.

“Aria, I was wrong…”

“Shut it. If you apologize now, I feel like it’ll just get worse.”

Being spoken to harshly by Aria, who had always seemed like an angel to me, delivered quite the shock. I slightly parted my lips in response to my injury but hung my head like a sinner, feeling like I had offended her.

Wham.

“Hm… I think I’m all healed up now.”

“Shut.”

I nodded willingly, closing my mouth. Once Aria realized she had fairy blood, she began to cultivate her healing abilities, and now she could easily treat minor injuries.

Pouring her seventh healing spell onto my perfectly healed shoulder, Aria looked strangely fixated.

“Just how shocked must she have been?”

That shouldn’t have happened. I had done something unacceptable to my whole family. I touched the cheek of the still pale-faced Aria and chuckled sadly.

“… I’m sorry, Aria. Please forgive me.”

Pearl-like droplets fell and soaked my hand. Aria, biting her lips tightly, rushed forward to hug me. I felt embarrassed being shirtless, just with a bandage around my chest, but I returned her embrace.

“Don’t ever do that again.”

“Ugh.”

“Never, sacrifice your body again.”

“Ugh.”

Pretending not to notice the droplets soaking my shoulder, I gently stroked Aria’s pink hair several times.

While we shared warmth, softly…

Knock knock.

“This is Taylor. If it’s not too much trouble, may I come in?”

Taylor knocked on the door.