"Iyaaah!"
With a strange shout that couldn't be called a shout of concentration, Krein smashed his aura blade down. The ferocious attack, which almost felt like it was intended to kill, bent like a whip to hit all over Jeron's body.
"Kuh…!"
Jeron was unable to withstand Krein's aura blade approaching from the front, and his hand holding his sword started to tremble.
'An opening!'
Krein didn't miss the moment when Jeron's arm trembled. He crushed the ground to advance and pierced his sword into his arm.
Claang!
At the multiple layers of impact, Jeron dropped his sword with blood scattering from his hand.
Cring!
Krein blocked his path to prevent him from getting his sword back and aimed his sword at his neck.
"I-I lost."
Jeron hung his head and admitted his defeat.
"Winner! Krein from Zieghart!"
The referee raised his hand and announced Krein's victory.
"Next up!"
Krein exhaled roughly and bobbed his finger towards the warriors waiting at the VIP seats.
"Whoaaa!"
"That's Zieghart for you! That was so cool!"
"What a fighting spirit! And he's only recently become an adult! Is everyone in Zieghart like that?"
"He's insane. The Light Wind division is called the Mad Dog division for a good reason!"
The spectators seemed to have liked Krein's daring fighting spirit, and they shouted for them to proceed to the next match already while cheering for Krein.
Thud!
The warrior who came onto the arena had a long body like a mantis, unlike the first opponent, Jeron. He slammed the arena with his long spear and confidently raised his head.
"I'm Logian from House Saicreen!"
"Krein from Zieghart!"
"Catch your breath."
"I don't need it."
Krein looked at the referee while saying that he didn't need a rest.
"Hmm…"
The referee came onto the arena and examined the two one after the other.
"Are you both ready?"
"I'm ready."
"..."
Logian confidently responded to the referee's question, and Krein simply nodded.
"Second duel! Begin!"
As soon as he announced the start of the match, Krein and Logian charged towards each other head-on.
"Haap!"
Logian took a step back and thrust his spear forward. The spearhead that was incorporating a blue aura advanced fiercely.
Whoosh!
It was an exquisite move taking advantage of the spear's distance. It was a ferocious attack that would have made any ordinary swordsman fall back, but it didn't work against Krein because there was something scarier to him.
"Kuh!"
Krein didn't step back even though the spearhead scratched his shoulder, piercing into Logian's space.
"Hmm…"
Logian's eyes widened, showing his surprise at the way Krein continued his attack while taking the blow. He used footwork to smoothly move to the right.
"You won't escape!"
Krein had no intention of losing the upper hand, and he charged like lightning once again, swinging his sword at Logian's waist.
Whoosh!
Logian hurriedly swirled the spear shaft to get into a defensive posture, but Krein's strike was already extending toward him with a perfect trajectory.
Smaack!
Since Logian didn't manage to incorporate his aura in time, the spear shaft broke and he rolled on the floor.
"Huff…"
Krein raised his chin while shaking the blood off his shoulder.
"Next!"
The entire arena fell quiet for a moment. Raon and the Light Wind division were the only ones who remained immobile, as it was an obvious outcome.
"Allow me to be the next challenger."
A knight sitting at the VIP seat on the right side came into the arena. He was a powerful warrior, and his pressure was as heavy as his armor.
"My name is Hopen from the Holy Kingdom of Schper."
He was a warrior from the Holy Kingdom of Schper who had visited Zieghart's lodgings to request a spar.
"Krein from Zieghart."
Krein tapped on the wound on his shoulder to show him that he was fine.
The referee noticed the sign that the two warriors were ready and immediately started the duel.
"Haap!"
Krein used his footwork while holding his breath. Hopen was on a different level from his opponents so far. He had to go all out from the beginning to win.
Thud!
He used the muscles all over his body to slash downwards. Along with his body, his aura exploded to become even faster and sharper. The aura blade was as polished as an awl and bent towards Hopen's armor.
"How ferocious."
Hopen caught the blade with his hands, and they radiated a light similar to the morning fog. It was the holy power of the Schper Holy Knights.
Wham! Wham!
Thundering sounds resounded one after the other from the clashes between the aura blade and the holy blade.
Krein was the one who was continuously attacking, but Hopen's holy power was surrounding him like a shield. He wasn't moved in the slightest.
"Damn it!"
Krein bit his lip while looking at the composure in Hopen's eyes.
'That demon isn't going to leave me alone if I lose like this!'
He would definitely get the focus enhancement training if he lost without breaking through Hopen's holy shield. He had to break that shield no matter what.
'I need to defeat him now.'
He fired his aura blades one after the other before he pulled his sword behind his back. He concentrated his aura and was about to use his special technique to pierce through the holy shield.
Whir!
Hopen realized that the consecutive attacks were over and concentrated his holy power to create a thick white greatsword.
"It's my turn now."
Hopen slammed down the greatsword with concentrated holy power with the intention of finishing the match in a single strike.
"Argh!"
Krein gave up on his special technique and raised his hand to deflect Hopen's blow.
However, he couldn't withstand the tremendous power of the greatsword and was slammed into the floor with a folded arm.
"Cough, I-I'm not done yet…"
"It's over."
"Not yet!"
"It won't change the result even if you stand up."
"Kuh…"
Krein tried to stand up, but Hopen brought his blade to his neck and shook his head.
"You might really die if you continue…"
"Kill me! Death will be preferable! Kill me right now!"
He screamed at Hopen, telling him to kill him.
"Err..."
"Th-the winner is Hopen from the Holy Kingdom of Schper!"
Hopen was blinking in bewilderment, and the referee came next to them and announced the victor.
"Damn it!"
Krein slammed the ground with his powerless fist upon hearing the referee's announcement.
"Ugh..."
He carefully stood up and came down from the arena to stand in front of Raon.
"I-I'm sor—"
"You fought well. The first and the second opponents were terrified by you and couldn't even fight properly."
Raon shook his head while stopping the bleeding on Krein's shoulder where the wound had opened up.
"Really? Does that mean…"
"However, you became impatient during the third match because of your opponent's defense and started to gather your power like an idiot, only to be beaten up. Therefore…"
He smiled as he lightly tapped on Krein's shoulder after he finished stopping the bleeding.
"Congratulations, you get to have focus enhancement training."
"Arrgh…"
Krein screamed even though he hadn't even done that when he was defeated and collapsed while foaming from his mouth.
"Next."
Raon bobbed his hand, and the Light Wind swordsman who was right behind him jumped up on the arena.
"My name is Pitran from the Light Wind division!"
"Hmm, I'm Hopen from the Holy Kingdom of Schper."
The referee checked their states and started the match.
"Iyaaaah!"
Because Pitran had witnessed Krein ending up with the focus enhancement training despite having fought pretty well, he barraged Hopen with attacks with madness in his eyes.
"Die! Die!"
Hopen broke out in cold sweat because of Pitran's bloodlust and his madness-filled eyes.
'Wh-what's wrong with these people?!'
The fighting competition of the Five Divine Orders had a different process than the Six Kings tournament.
They didn't ask for any registration but allowed whoever wanted to fight to come onto the arena by themselves to have a match. The winner of the match stayed while the loser returned to their seat.
The duels continued like that until there were no more challengers, and the last one to stay in the ring became the winner. It was the perfect process for a festival.
Since they had more chances to win the later they participated, the warriors from prestigious houses and kingdoms were quietly waiting instead of stepping up, but one faction was different.
Zieghart had sent Krein to the first duel, and they kept sending their swordsmen after that to participate in every single match.
After around sixty matches, it had become a competition between Zieghart and other factions.
"Zieghart knows how to enjoy a festival."
"I know, right? They keep joining the fight without holding back, unlike the other houses."
"Their members and their house as a whole are so cool. I can't help rooting for them."
"Don't you like how their swordsmen are doing their best without taking care of their bodies? Their faces already reveal how serious they are."
"I can understand now why people praise the Six Kings so much. They are completely different from the rest."
"Zieghart! Win!"
In fact, the Light Wind swordsmen simply wanted to escape from Raon's focus enhancement training, but the spectators took a liking to them because they were fighting with madness. More than half of the crowd was cheering for them while shouting Zieghart's name.
Raon looked up to the arena while listening to their cheers.
"Sniff…"
Dorian's shoulders were trembling as he clenched his fist. He bit his lip while looking at the astral energy bursting from his opponent's sword.
"Why am I against a Master…?"
Raon had thought that the Light Wind swordsmen could keep going for a bit longer, but the sudden appearance of someone who wasn't even at the entry level, instead at the novice level, of master easily eliminated the vice team leaders. Dorian, who was in the arena, was the only swordsman left except for the team leaders.
'He said his name was Kallon.'
Dorian's opponent was a direct line from the prestigious house of swordsmen, Deppen, which was famous for their swift sword techniques. He didn't have that much battle experience, but Raon could tell that he didn't neglect his training.
"Surrender."
Kallon nodded his chin while pointing his sword at Dorian.
"A swordsman who is afraid of his opponent will never be able to win."
He shook his hand, telling him to forfeit the match without wasting the time.
"Afraid? Yes, I'm indeed afraid. However…"
Dorian bit his lip while glancing at Raon under the arena instead of Kallon.
"I'm not actually afraid of you!"
He shouted that he was afraid of the real madman and charged at Kallon. His blade was divided into five when he thrust it and created a blue wave of blade aura.
"Hmph."
Kallon snorted and lightly swung his sword as if he were chasing a fly away.
Claang!
His swing looked like he was kidding, but the result wasn't light at all. The strike incorporated the principles of extreme swiftness and mercilessly severed the wave of aura blades.
"Argh!"
Dorian tried to charge at him once again, but he was smacked by the extremely swift strike from Kallon's blade and sent flying from the arena.
"Kweeh…"
His trembling body showed that he'd received a serious amount of damage.
"I'm screwed…"
Dorian sighed while thinking that he was done for, and Raon's shadow was cast over his head. His face looked so peaceful.
"V-vice division leader?"
"Good job, you did well holding out there."
Raon helped Dorian stand and shook off the dust from his body.
"Th-thank…"
"However, you shouldn't have unleashed your aura blade at the end without a plan. You should have moved while predicting your opponent's move. You could've lasted at least three more strikes if you had."
"Ah…"
Dorian's face turned pale as he predicted his future.
"Therefore, you also get to have focus enhancement training."
"Aaaaah! Noooo! Please no!"
Dorian shook his head while holding onto the hem of Raon's pants.
"Denied. Just go get treated already."
Dorian started to rampage, but Raon simply kicked him away to send him to the treatment room and looked at the arena.
'It will be difficult to win against him.'
Kallon had already adapted to the realm of novice level Master. Since he could even match up to Mark Goetten, it would be difficult to win even if he sent Martha, Runaan, and Burren one after the other.
'But it will be a great experience for them.'
Since it was a great opportunity to face a different Master than Mark Goetten, it was going to be extremely helpful for the three team leaders.
"Martha."
Raon waved his hand at Martha to ask her to come out.
"You are finally calling me. I was getting bored to death."
Martha tapped on her ebony hair and went towards the arena. Even though the opponent was a Master at a much higher realm than herself, she didn't look nervous at all.
Raon narrowed his eyes while looking at Martha's back as she advanced as heavily as a lion.
'Her temperament has changed. No, it's actually her personality.'
Martha's tendency had been continuously changing ever since she'd seen the White Blood Religion's leader, but the change had become a lot more drastic recently. It was to the point that she looked like a different person.
'The same goes for that training.'
The Martha of the past would never have requested any help from Rimmer, let alone trained alongside Burren and Runaan. She'd been taking care of the division members one by one recently, and they were even saying that her soul had been switched.
'She must've been influenced by others just like me.'
Since Raon had gone through a similar change, he could understand her feelings. Martha used to only care about herself, but the addition of her companions and friends had been causing a drastic change in her life.
Exactly. Beef Girl has definitely changed.
Wrath lowered his lips while looking at Martha's back.
The burning wrath in her heart has subsided. She's a lot less charming now.
He shook his head, saying that she was a lot less likable because her wrath was gone.
'Don't people usually say the opposite though?'
Raon smiled faintly while watching Martha enter the arena while leaving a kind scent of soil behind.
'It might happen today.'
* * *
Martha went to the arena and faced Kallon.
'He's so damn strong.'
She could tell from the sharp pressure coming from Kallon's body. The swordsman in front of her was too powerful for her to win against.
'However… I won't admit my defeat before even fighting.'
Running away in fear before even crossing blades wasn't the way of the Light Wind division. Even though it was a spar, she was going to persist with the determination to lose her limbs.
"I'm Martha, the first team leader of the Light Wind division of Zieghart."
Martha clearly revealed her affiliation, unlike the other swordsmen from the Light Wind division, before she grabbed the hilt of her blade.
"Kallon from House Deppen."
Kallon politely introduced himself even though Martha was far younger than himself. It was befitting behavior for someone from a prestigious house.
"Are you both ready?"
Martha and Kallon's gazes replaced their responses to the referee's question.
"Start the match!"
He lowered his hand and left the arena, but the two didn't make any moves.
"Haa…"
Instead of attacking recklessly like always, Martha slowly unleashed the aura from her energy center and examined her opponent's energy.
'I'm definitely going to lose in a frontal clash.'
She could've overpowered a warrior at a similar level as her with the sturdiness of the Titan's aura, but her opponent was better than her in many aspects. It was necessary to look for an opening instead of recklessly charging at him.
"Aren't you coming? You are different from the rumors."
Kallon narrowed his eyes, his blade lifted to around the level of his waist.
"The rumors?"
"I heard you immediately attack whenever you are called Miss Rakshasa."
"I'm not Miss Rakshasa!"
Martha frowned and kicked the arena. The ground she'd stepped on was destroyed like a dry leaf.
"Oops, Sword of Rakshasa. I made a mistake."
Kallon smiled at her predictable behavior and swirled his sword.
"Start by apologizing if you know you were wrong!"
Martha looked furious as she advanced, but her head was completely cool.
'I need simple movements.'
She'd seen Kallon's fight against Dorian, but he wasn't being serious. It was necessary to go all out from the beginning to push him and gain the upper hand.
Whoosh!
While Martha was incorporating the energy of earth into her sword, turning it bright yellow, Kallon's wrist started to turn. It was an extremely fast swordsmanship. His blade was extended like a ray of light and rushed towards her neck.
'How is it so fast?!'
Even though she was the first one to attack, Kallon's sword reached her first.
'Damn it!'
Martha decreased the power of her sword to increase the speed.
Claaang!
Even though it was a clash between swords, the thunderous noise sounded like a building was collapsing.
"Kuh…"
Martha quietly groaned while pushing Kallon's sword back.
'It feels like my hands are tearing apart.'
Even though Kallon wasn't using any astral energy, the Titan aura was waning because of the difference in level between the auras. If she hadn't gone all out from the beginning, she would've been bounced away in a single strike like the others.
"That's a team leader for you. Not bad."
"Stop judging me."
Martha bit her lip and stomped the ground with her left foot. She mustered the power of land and swung her sword down.
Claang!
Kallon's eyes widened because the attack was even stronger than the first one.
"I thought that was the best of your ability. Was it not?"
"I told you to shut up."
"How demanding."
Kallon slightly lowered his eyebrows and dragged his sword down from mid-height. Sharpness was added to the fast and precise movement of his blade.
"Haap!"
Martha held her breath and stepped forth with her left foot. She mustered every last bit of her physical strength and clenched her sword.
'Momentum is my strong point.'
It was Raon who'd told her that her biggest weapon was her fighting spirit that allowed her to advance without cowering in front of the opponent.
'I'll show you the capabilities of the Light Wind division's assault leader.'
She exploded the concentrated muscle and aura in an instant and swung her sword upwards. The blade soared after grazing the arena, and a tremendous amount of power was unleashed.
"This is pretty good…"
Kallon nodded in approval and bent his wrist down like he was shaking the dust from his clothes. His blade incorporating his aura fell like lightning.
Whaam!
The second furious clash made pieces of aura scatter in all directions.
Kallon and Martha counted on the auras surrounding their bodies and kept crossing their blades amid exploding auras.
"You'd better withdraw."
Kallon shook his hand while watching the blood gush from Martha's shoulder and abdomen.
"Shut up and swing your sword!"
Her aura became even more powerful the more she got injured as she kept attacking continuously. She gave up on the defense and started to use all her aura for offense, but Kallon's sword didn't waver in the slightest.
"I have to admit, I might have lost if you were at the entry level of Master. However…"
The light on Kallon's blade intensified and a powerful wind pressure occurred. It was a swift sword art entrapping the opponent.
In that instant, a yellow light sparked from Martha's eyes.
'Now is the time!'
She could see an extremely small opening as Kallon switched his swordsmanship in order to quickly finish the match. It was her only opportunity to win against him.
Whaam!
She amplified her heartbeat and activated Berserk. Her vision turned red, and someone's voice resounded in her head.
Give your body over to me! I'll kill your opponent no matter who it is!
It was a voice of temptation, telling her to leave her body to it.
'Shut your trap.'
Martha bit her lip and pushed the voice back. She only gained the power inside the madness and thrust her sword at Kallon's opening.
Whaaam!
Her aura bursting from her energy center was further amplified as it passed through her heart and created a powerful explosion on her blade.
"Kuh!"
Kallon's sword was pushed back, and he let out a gruff groan. It looked like he hadn't expected her to activate Berserk in that split second.
Martha's chin trembled. She felt like her lungs were shrinking because of how difficult it was to breathe as she maintained her sanity during Berserk.
'But I will still keep going!'
She could only maintain her sanity during Berserk for an extremely brief period of time. There wasn't going to be a next time if she missed that chance.
She unleashed the Soul of Furious Land Burst with the fervor and heaviness of the land. The powerful energy wave burst from the ground and pushed Kallon's sword back.
Whaaam!
Kallon's uniform was torn and a thin stream of blood flowed from his mouth from the consecutive explosions in the training ground.
''Just like this… Ah!"
Martha was about to push ahead to finish the match, but a light different from before radiated from Kallon's sword.
Claang!
Even though her aura blade was enhanced more than twice from Berserk, it was hopelessly cut apart. It was astral energy. Kallon was finally using the astral blade.
"Kuh…"
Kallon used the astral blade to drive Martha into a corner with a frown on his face that looked like his pride was hurt.
Rip!
Martha created aura shields centered around the Titan's aura, but they were torn apart like pieces of paper.
"This is as far as you go."
The astral blade on Kallon's sword had already reached Martha's neck. A thin stream of blood was flowing down from her neck.
"I admit, I honestly didn't expect that I would have to use astral energy."
He nodded, saying that Martha's skills were way better than the rumors.
"It won't take a long time until you surpass me. But that's not today."
Kallon nodded his chin without lowering his sword to urge her to forfeit.
"Huff…"
Martha violently exhaled and closed her eyes. Her head was still ringing and her body felt like she was being split apart because she hadn't turned Berserk off.
Instead of responding to Kallon's call, she slowly raised her eyebrows.
"I won't utter the word 'defeat' with my own lips."
"Martha Zieghart!"
"I can't keep backing down forever."
"This is just a spar! Are you trying to risk your life for this?"
"You don't realize how I could do nothing but back down so far."
Martha bit her lip.
'There's nowhere to back down anymore.'
The monster occupying her mother's body was a Transcender, an existence even more powerful than a Grandmaster. Even though it was a spar, she couldn't back down anymore. She was already far past the age where youth could be given as an excuse. It was necessary to risk her life for everything she faced in order to get stronger.
Grit!
Martha mustered the power in her body once again while maintaining Berserk.
"White Sword Dragon! Stop her! How could she do this when this is just a spar?!"
Kallon figured he wouldn't be able to convince Martha and looked at Raon instead.
"Why would I stop her?"
Raon stared at Martha's back for a moment before looking at Kallon.
"At this rate, she might end up dying or be severely injured…"
"The first team leader of the Light Wind division doesn't act without thinking. She is standing there with her own will. Even if she dies or gets severely wounded, it is up to her to decide."
He didn't make any move and showed his trust in Martha.
The other Light Wind swordsmen also watched Martha with gazes full of trust.
Martha bit her lip. Her body was trembling because it was her first time being trusted by people who weren't her mother.
She wouldn't have cared about what other people did in the past, but that wasn't the case anymore. She could sense their feelings.
Whir.
Unlike the wrath that had been following her for her entire life, a warm emotion seeped into her heart.
Sublime energy, surging from the land she was stepping on, pierced through her body and mind.
A frightening amount of delight engulfed her body, and her aura that had hit rock bottom was reignited like a wildfire.
Rumble!
A blazing yellow flame appeared and pushed Kallon's sword back from her neck.
Crack!
Martha advanced while cruising the arena. Her body bolted like lightning and scattered the heaviness of a great mountain.
The faint aura blades used to look like they could disappear at any moment, but they entangled with each other over and over to radiate like the twilight.
"What?!"
Kallon frantically pulled his sword back upon seeing the energy dwelling on Martha's sword.
Whir!
Martha stroked her right hand with eyes that looked like she was bewitched by the sword. The fiery beast of twilight hidden inside that heaviness opened its jaw towards Kallon's astral energy.
Whaaam!
The orange evening glow and blue tidal wave clashed against each other, and a powerful storm engulfed the training ground.