Gerkhen Kal Doon and I walked down the corridor together until we were separated at the waiting rooms.
I was directed to the third sword waiting room, and Gerkhen Kal Doon to the third shield waiting room.
The third sword attacker waiting room was a bit cramped, but there were only about 50 people. All of them had tense expressions on their faces.
I sat down in an empty seat. Then, someone slid into the seat next to me.
"Are you out of your mind?"
It was Elise.
"?"
I looked at her, puzzled by her sudden question about my mental state. Elise shrugged nonchalantly.
"Well, you must be. Why else would I have given you my tier ticket."
"…Are you out of your mind? You're talking to yourself."
Suddenly, Elise showed me her tablet PC.
"Look at this. You can't change your decision now anyway."
"What-"
"Gerkhen Kal Doon is a left-handed swordsman. He often uses a sword that extends from left to right. His weak point is on the sword side. Even during defense training, that side is..."
Elise was rattling on like a coach when she abruptly stopped. Probably because of my expression. It was as if I was looking at a phantom, no, it wasn't really a phantom, was it?
I asked her sincerely.
"…Why are you doing this all of a sudden?"
"...."
Elise gritted her teeth slightly.
"Read it. It will help."
She pushed the tablet PC into my lap and stood up from her seat.
Just then, a speaker from the ceiling rang out.
─The swordsmanship evaluation test, 'Sword and Shield', will now begin. Swords 1 to 20 and the shields chosen by them, please come to the stage.
The time limit for the non-combat stage is 6 minutes. With a total of 225 teams, 450 participants in this large-scale evaluation test, the progress should be sufficient. After all, there are 20 non-combat stages.
While waiting for my turn, I looked at the tablet PC that Elise had left.
It was a video of Gerkhen Kal Doon's swordsmanship, dissected frame by frame by a professor of swordsmanship or a private tutor.
─Gerkhen Kal Doon is a left-handed swordsman. The side holding the sword, that is, the right side, is perfect. It can be said to be flawless...
If there is a weakness, it is the side holding the sword. It seems to feel a bit burdened by the sword coming from the left side.
In general, the defense on the side holding the sword—left hand—is somewhat lax, but even that is considered A-grade. The rest is S-grade.
"It's scary though."
It's not that, this video was not filmed in Endex's training room. It was a secretly filmed video of him sparring in some dojo or non-combat zone, but who filmed this video, where did they get it from, and who is analyzing it from behind in such a creepy way?
"Is this what kids' entrance exams are like?"
Now that I've become a kid, I understand.
Kids, they never have it easy.
─The first team has finished. Swords 21 to 40 and the shields chosen by them, please come to the stage.
In the meantime, the first round had already ended.
My heart began to race.
Gerkhen Kal Doon.
I closed my eyes, picturing him.
From what I know, he is a hexagonal swordsman. Meaning, he is perfect in all aspects.
His perfection only solidifies as time goes by.
If Soliette reaches the pinnacle with the Severing Sword, a technique outside the system, Gerkhen Kal Doon achieves the ultimate within the system.
Therefore, if there exists a timeline where I can defeat Gerkhen Kal Doon, even once in a lifetime.
If there exists a moment when I can beat him.
Perhaps, it might be now.
When Gerkhen Kal Doon is still just a student, and we are only competing in the basics.
─Team 3 has finished. Numbers 61 to 80 and their opponents, please come forward.
I opened my eyes.
It was my turn.
______________________________________________________________________
"Number 77. Number 450. This is your place."
In the coliseum hall, the referee pointed to the central non-combat stage. It was the protagonist's seat, so to speak.
I climbed onto it.
The non-combat hadn't even started yet, but one by one, spectators began to take their seats in the stands. They were seniors who had already completed their evaluation tests. They all watched us, and the gaze of the cameras and scouts intensified.
Among these numerous cameras, there must be Zia Libra.
"You have a time limit of 6 minutes for the non-combat. We will now distribute the weapons."
As the referee handed out the swords, I received a longsword of the same length as the Ascal short sword, and Gerkhen Kal Doon received an ordinary broadsword.
"It's a specially treated reverse blade."
The reverse blade has much less killing power than a regular sword. With special treatment, at least no one should die.
"The attacker will use or modify the Five Basic Forms Three Sword Forms, and the defender will defend against it. If you use a sword technique that deviates from the Five Basic Forms Three Sword Forms, you will be penalized. Do you understand?"
"Yes."
As we answered simultaneously, the referee who had been standing between us moved to the edge of the non-combat stage.
Gerkhen Kal Doon on the other side was revealed.
I looked at him.
The weight emanating from him now… was so overwhelming that I almost laughed.
To use a metaphor, it was like a mountain.
Just standing there seemed to press down on the whole area, and there was not a hint of carelessness, not even a grain of slack in his unwavering mind.
Should I break down that sturdy posture, I don't feel bad.
Because it means he's serious.
"Begin."
The referee announced the start.
I drew my sword. The scabbard was thrown to the ground.
There's no time to measure. Because even a second is precious.
There's no need to be afraid. Because I am in the present.
First, stepping.
I kicked the ground and swung my sword.
The first technique was 'Slash'. A strike that concentrates the power of the sword in one place.
Gerkhen Kal Doon raised his sword.
Clang──!
He defended lightly, but my sword technique had already unfolded. The moment the swords collided, I twisted my body and sword.
I executed the 'Five-Flower Form'.
A technique from the Three Sword Forms that strikes down the five strokes, in an instant, like a single blow, is the heaviest sword technique.
────!
Gerkhen Kal Doon defended against it. He mitigated the impact by being pushed back a few steps.
But it wasn't over. I pursued the retreating Gerkhen Kal Doon, striking again with the same 'Five-Flower Form'.
───!
Any ordinary swordsman would have been taken aback. The Five-Flower Form is not a consecutive attack but a single-strike technique and thus cannot be used in succession.
But I am no ordinary swordsman.
I possess a robust body that can unleash single strikes as if they were consecutive attacks, a resilient physique that won't break no matter how I wield my sword.
Again, I twisted my waist and knees like a snake, pulling up and steadying my posture for the third Five-Flower Form.
───!
Gerkhen Kal Doon blocked even that.
I anticipated it.
I didn't withdraw my sword. I immediately launched into a thrust.
Not a single stroke. Not two strokes. I unleashed nine strokes of thrusts in a single moment, targeting his top, bottom, left, and right.
The speed was almost like a bullet, but Gerkhen Kal Doon twisted his blade repeatedly, blocking everything, like playing a violin.
From there, I launched into the Eclipse again. Six strokes, five strokes, four strokes. As I learned from Soliette, I fired, and Gerkhen Kal Doon dodged by stepping back. I followed his movement, and this time, I transitioned from a thrust to the Five-Flower Form.
Once I lodged the thrust into his blade, clang─!
I lunged forward with my 'body' before the sword.
This naturally transitions the thrust into a slash, and in that state, after pushing his sword away, I strike down──!
"!"
For the first time, Gerkhen Kal Doon was taken aback.
A sword technique almost akin to a physical brawl. A single strike is executed while 'exhausting' the body.
However, it is strictly within the system of the Three Sword Forms.
Thud─!
He was repelled.
Finally, his mountain-like posture was disrupted. His balance was broken.
From now on, there will be no orderly duel.
It's a chaotic brawl.
Gerkhen Kal Doon's feet must not stay on the ground. I first push in with my shoulder, twisting my body here and there as I swing my sword.
──! ─! ─! ────!
The clashing of swords echoes madly. The ringing of swords is deafening. At some point, it becomes almost rhythmic.
I twisted my sword at every moment. The target is only Gerkhen Kal Doon's left hand.
However, by the book, I can't inflict a single wound on him. The more time I buy, the more my stamina burns.
───! ─! ─! ─! ─────!
Therefore, I mix and unfold everything from the Five Basic Forms and Three Sword Forms, all memorized in my 「Notepad」.
I feigned a thrust and made a big slash, and feigned a big slash and thrust.
I swung single strikes consecutively and mixed thrusts between consecutive attacks.
A wildly twisted, yet definitely orderly style of my own.
As Soliette said, the crazy Changing Sword.
"Huff!"
Sweat splattered on the stage. Amidst it, blood seeped.
It wasn't mine.
It was from Gerkhen Kal Doon's hand.
From that sturdy body, from a body that seemed like it would never bear a wound in a lifetime, blood was flowing.
In that fleeting moment, seeing his left hand, I smiled.
Gerkhen Kal Doon also slightly moved one corner of his mouth.
That too, must have been a kind of smile.
─────!
A massive consensus clash. Gerkhen Kal Doon's posture was not recovering, and even his response was now slowing down.
Everything I had prepared in my head was already exhausted, but from now on, I would just pour out my sword as my body moved.
──Chaeaeang!
With every clash of swords, the fire in my chest grew. Excitement surged and overflowed throughout my body. My whole body pulsed like a heart.
Thump───!
I can win.
No.
I've won.
-Just as that premature celebration was about to surge.
Crack─!
At the sound of breaking, I paused. I hastily took a step back.
"Huh...."
Gerkhen Kal Doon took a deep breath. It seemed like a sigh of relief, as if he was certain of his victory.
I looked at my sword blade.
It was broken.
A part of the long sword wobbled and fell to the ground.
"...."
I silently looked at Gerkhen Kal Doon. His sword was still intact.
Suddenly, I wondered.
Perhaps, had he calculated up to this point?
Looking back, the 'blade surface' of my sword that he defended against was always the same. He persistently struck only the middle part of my sword. On the other hand, he used every nook of his own sword.
He minimized the impact on his broadsword, while he maximized the damage on my long sword.
"Number 77."
The referee called my number.
It's a simple logic.
In the sword fight, the swordsman whose sword is broken cannot continue the fight.
"Would you like to forfeit...?"
That can't be the case.
I grabbed the fallen blade from the ground. The referee's mouth opened. Gerkhen Kal Doon raised his eyebrows as he saw it.
I gestured at Gerkhen Kal Doon's left hand. The bleeding on his hand had worsened.
It wasn't just a burst. There was a clear 'wound'.
I inflicted it.
Gerkhen Kal Doon resumed his stance. I unfolded the 'Eclipse' while only gripping the blade.
───!
When I stepped and clashed six strokes of the sword, Gerkhen Kal Doon's hand was loose and I had no sword hilt.
──!
When I cut five strokes and sparks and shockwaves flew like sparks, my body felt like it would explode.
Chang───!
Eventually, the last four strokes of the Eclipse.
From the full moon to the waning moon.
─! ──! ──!
Gerkhen Kal Doon managed to withstand three out of four, but I mixed in a 'Z-Cut' at the end of the fourth stroke.
Whirrrrr──!
My sword curved and passed through Gerkhen Kal Doon's sword.
Thunk─!
"...End!"
"The referee shouted.
I was still stunned until then.
"6 minutes. End."
My sword blade was stuck in Gerkhen Kal Doon's shoulder. There was no bleeding, probably due to the armor.
"Time is up."
The Colosseum was as quiet as a mouse.
My right hand, gripping the reverse-blade sword, was soaked with blood, and so was Gerkhen Kal Doon's left hand, thick with blood.
"Step back."
I slowly stepped back. Gerkhen Kal Doon pulled my sword blade out of his shoulder.
"The winner is..."
I looked at the referee.
He spoke, his face as flushed as ours.
"Shion Ascal."
It was my name.
Strength drained from my body.
One knee involuntarily buckled, and air gushed out of my lungs, swollen as if about to burst.
Gerkhen Kal Doon was still standing. His breathing had already returned to normal.
I looked up at him.
There was a faint, unbelieving smile on his lips.
I was also skeptical.
...How strange.
For the first time in both my past and present lives, I beat you.
Ironically, in the end, you're still looking down at me.
"You both did great."
The referee said. Gerkhen Kal Doon dropped his sword and turned around. He descended from the stage.
"But, you said your name is Shion Ascal? If you swing your sword like that, your body will get too damaged. It will break down quickly. Right now… it seems like you've already overdone it. You should go to the hospital."
It was the same worry as Soliette's.
Everyone seems to have the same perspective.
"Yes."
I also descended from the stage.
I glanced at Gerkhen Kal Doon for no reason. Just then, Gerkhen Kal Doon also looked back at me.
We looked at each other.
There was no particular meaning in our gazes.
With that last exchange of glances, we parted ways.
There were already many people gathered in the passage where Gerkhen Kal Doon was leaving, and in the passage where I was about to leave...
Elise was there.
She was looking at me with strange eyes.
Normally, I would have ignored her, but this time, I couldn't.
I approached her. I went straight without any hesitation.
Rather, it was Elise who hesitated. She tightly clutched the hem of her dress.
"Hey. This is a bit strange. Huh."
I said and found myself laughing without realizing it.
"I won thanks to you."
Even I found it absurd, but really, that tablet PC.
Thanks to you who revealed Gerkhen Kal Doon's weakness—his left hand—as a property, I think I won.
"...!"
Elise shuddered. She suddenly stepped back.
Her lips moved as if she was about to say something, then…
Tadadadadat─!
She ran away at a speed close to a full sprint.