Chapter 73
Chapter 73
What had just happened?
At first, I couldn’t even realize it, even though I had seen it with my own two eyes.
I thought nothing had changed.
I thought Arkan had merely swung a tree branch at empty air. But how could that be? It was just that my eyes couldn’t follow it.
‘What did he cut?’
I looked around for a while, then saw Izumi smiling at me and pointing toward the sky.
‘No way.’
I lifted my head and looked up at the sky.
I couldn’t believe my eyes.
I had already acknowledged that he had far surpassed the limits of a human being, but feeling that fact with my own skin was another matter entirely. Watching his sword again, I felt a deep sense of helplessness.
What he had cut by swinging that branch wasn’t something on the ground.
It was the sky.
He had cut the clouds floating in the sky.
A straight line had been drawn across the center of the cloud, shaped like a wolf.
‘How can this possibly be the power of a human?’
It was awe-inspiring.
Was that the attack he referred to as an inevitable strike?
“If this sword technique can be completed, it will reach the target no matter what kind of defensive technique the opponent uses. You saw it just now with your own eyes. Do you understand the principle behind it?”
“…I can’t begin to understand it.”
“You compress a minuscule amount of aura into the blade and divide it into extremely fine fragments. It’s the exact opposite of how you normally handle sword energy. The key is to break it down to the utmost extreme, to the point where the opponent can’t even defend against it. Think about it. No matter how strong a defense may be, it can’t block dust, can it? But what if there’s something even smaller than dust? The core of this technique is to reduce aura to particle form and use it to deliver an inevitable strike.”
It felt like I’d been struck on the back of the head.
How could someone even think of such a thing?
This must be what people call a genius.
There are substances in this world so small and fine that they can’t even be perceived by the naked eye.
Arkan was explaining how to manipulate aura to be as small as those particles.
It was a brilliant idea, but this swordsmanship inevitably had a fatal flaw.
“…Wouldn’t the power be reduced?”
It was an obvious point.
Aura was essentially compressed mana. But if you broke it down to the extreme, the quality of the mana would significantly degrade, and inevitably, the power would drop as well.
“Yes. You pointed it out well. This swordsmanship does have a fatal flaw. Once complete, it can truly be called inevitable, but the moment you fragment the aura, the power of the swordsmanship decreases.”
“…I figured as much.”
“But that depends on how you overcome it. The reason the sword loses power is because the mana within the aura becomes diluted. But that varies from user to user. Just as the quality of your magic is different from mine. In other words… if you purely enhance your own mana, the power can also be amplified.”
I understood the principle, and the intention behind the creation of this sword technique. But in order to make it usable in actual combat, I would first have to raise the concentration of my mana, and that required an incredible level of aura control.
I was confident in the latter. The former was the problem.
A monster like Arkan Winterbell could maintain such overwhelming power even after fragmenting his aura like that, but for ordinary people—no, not just ordinary people, for virtually anyone other than him—it was an impossible feat.
‘Even if I learn it, it’ll take ages before I can actually use it in real combat. At my current level, I’d barely be able to use it to tickle the enemy.’
Realizing that the secret sword technique of the family I had finally managed to learn was utterly useless for now soured my mood.
“……”
“You’ve got the look of someone wondering why I’d teach you something you can’t even use.”
Flustered, I answered right away.
“N-No, that’s not it!”
Was my expression really that obvious? Or did Arkan Winterbell actually have mind-reading abilities?
If he truly possessed such a skill, he would have already figured out long ago that I was Deus.
“I never said I’d teach you just one thing.”
What? Did I mishear that?
Could it be… he meant there’s another technique he’s going to teach me, on top of the one he just showed?
“……”
“You really need to work on hiding your expressions better.”
Arkan Winterbell turned his head and looked toward Izumi Winterbell.
“Izumi.”
Izumi, who was sucking on a sugar-coated ice candy, asked with a bored look.
“What.”
“Come here and give a demonstration.”
“A demonstration of what?”
“When the Patriarch says to do something, you just do it. Why so many questions?”
“Tch. You’re nothing short of a tyrant, I swear.”
Grumbling, Izumi nonetheless walked over to Arkan.
“So what am I supposed to show? There’s a whole list of Winterbell sword techniques, you know?”
“Your sharp tongue is still the same. No wonder you’ve made it to that age without getting married.”
The smile Izumi had worn until just now vanished, and a surge of murderous intent burst from her entire body. It was so intense that even I, standing nearby, could feel a prickling sensation on my skin.
“Our great and mighty Patriarch sure doesn’t think before he speaks. How about we have a go, for old time’s sake?”
Arkan gripped the branch he was holding and replied. A wave of killing intent surged from him, overwhelming Izumi in an instant.
“Fine by me. If you win, I’ll give you the Patriarch seat.”
Izumi smirked and replied.
“Phew. You damn monster of an old man. You never let me win, not once.”
The murderous intent had already dissipated.
Izumi was ranked third.
Aside from Arkan and Darkin, she was said to possess the greatest strength within the Winterbell Family. But in truth, the gap between her and the Patriarch was like the distance between the heavens and the earth.
And no one understood that better than Izumi herself.
“So, what do you want me to teach him?”
“Winterbell’s Second Decisive Technique.”
Izumi’s expression shifted.
“The Decisive Technique? Are you seriously saying you’ll pass down the Decisive Technique to that little brat, Patriarch?”
Arkan nodded.
“Not as the Patriarch. As his father. Ran Winterbell stood at the starting line later than anyone else, and yet he didn’t receive what he should have received as a blood member of the Winterbell family. He didn’t enjoy what he was rightfully entitled to, and instead suffered losses. Everyone is a candidate competing for the Patriarch’s seat, but this isn’t fair.”
I never imagined Arkan would be thinking that way deep down. That it wasn’t fair? Since when did he care about fairness? If he really thought that way, shouldn’t he have gone after the person who poisoned me and turned me half-crippled in the first place?
The more I thought about it, the less I could understand what kind of mindset he had when saying such things, or what he was truly feeling inside.
Izumi spoke with an unusually serious expression.
“Still… the Decisive Technique is…”
Just as she said, the Decisive Technique could only be learned by specific, approved talents within the family. No matter how direct a bloodline one had to the Patriarch, unless the Patriarch personally passed it down, it could never be learned.
And yet, Arkan had declared that he would teach such a technique to me directly. If this news were to reach the other siblings, it would no doubt cause a massive ripple.
From their perspective, it would appear as though Patriarch Arkan was supporting me.
‘It wouldn’t just be my siblings—the retainers would be in an uproar too.’
But from my position, it was an offer far too valuable to refuse. I was already learning two techniques from Arkan, and one of them was even a Decisive Technique.
The first technique wasn’t something I could use right away, but learning it now would clearly be a great asset later on.
And the second technique was a Decisive Technique—its destructive power, at the very least, would be guaranteed.
“This is a decision I’ve made as Patriarch. No objections, Izumi.”
“Yes, yes. Of course. Well, the Second Decisive Technique is one I handle best after you, Patriarch, so I suppose that’s why you called me.”
Izumi walked over and ruffled my hair.
“Hey, youngest. This auntie’s going to show you, so keep your eyes wide open. I’ll show you exactly why our Winterbell family is held in such praise, and why the Decisive Technique is called that. Got it?”
“Yes, Aunt.”
“Patriarch, is it okay if I go all out?”
“Go ahead. Holding back would be pointless.”
“Got it.”
Izumi drew the sword hanging at her waist. The name of the pure white sword she held was Seollang—Snow Wolf. A famed sword, named for a wolf atop snowy mountains.
From her entire body, a sky-blue aura began to rise.
Chwarurururuk!
In an instant, the aura shot up like a pillar, swelling continuously until it pierced through the clouds above.
The sky-blue hue gradually shifted into a blinding white.
‘How much mana does she even have…’
Even her irises began to shimmer with a spectrum of colors, resonating with the aura.
“Nephew, the Second Decisive Technique can be useful in one-on-one battles, but it truly shines in fights against multiple opponents. Or on the battlefield. Just using this technique alone can completely shift the tide of war. So make sure you burn this into your eyes.”
I nodded, as if under a spell.
Each time Izumi spoke, puffs of white breath spilled from her mouth, gleaming with radiant color.
A staggering cold.
“Winterbell’s Second Decisive Technique.”
Izumi raised the Seollang high into the sky and held her breath.
“Permafrost.”
That was when it happened.
Kadeudeudeudeuk!
A tremendous cold swept in from all directions, like a tidal wave, engulfing the entire sparring ground. Izumi’s aura devoured everything in an instant.
When I opened my eyes again, the entire sparring ground was completely frozen.
Massive ice formations, easily five times my height, had jutted up like jagged spears.
Had this technique been unleashed on a battlefield, the surroundings would have instantly turned into a sea of blood.
But Arkan and I were the only ones unaffected.
It seemed Arkan had controlled Izumi’s aura on his own, while in my case, she had deliberately directed it away from me.
‘To be able to unleash a technique of this magnitude and still control it with such precision… truly astonishing.’
Having finished the demonstration, Izumi beamed brightly as she looked at me.
“How was that, nephew? Now do you understand what I meant? That was me using it at its weakest. If I widened the range any more, the entire Winterbell estate would’ve been swept away. Oh, and by the way, your father…”
Izumi added with a playful grin,
“Could probably freeze the entire North.”
Judging from their expressions, I couldn’t tell if she was joking or serious.
“Alright, this is what you’re going to learn.”