Chapter 90
Chapter 90
After returning to the Annex, I swung my sword alone in the training ground. Moonlight softly illuminated the snow-covered training yard.
‘Tomorrow is finally the day.’
My grip on the sword tightened. The friendly tournament that took place once every ten years. And the bet with the Patriarch, Arkan Winterbell.
I had to win the championship without losing even once.
That was the task I had to accomplish.
I slowly steadied my breathing and raised my sword.
The basic stance of the One-Sword Technique that I had learned from my master. An extreme swordsmanship that decided everything with a single strike. I took my stance without the slightest disturbance.
Slash!
The sword cut through the air. The swordsmanship from Van Descartes’ memories and the One-Sword Technique blended together naturally. The sensation of two different sword styles merging into one felt new.
‘Still… not enough.’
It seemed to flow smoothly, but I could tell. There was a very tiny gap. In the eyes of masters, that gap would appear as a fatal weakness.
I raised my sword once more. This time even slower, even more carefully. I searched for the sensation where every muscle and nerve in my body became one with the sword.
‘Something the Ran Winterbell of the past could never have imagined.’
The time when I had been half-crippled due to poison poisoning came to mind. Back then, I could not even properly hold a sword.
But now it was different.
My body had fully recovered, and had actually grown stronger.
To a degree that could not even be compared to before.
If only physical ability was considered, I had become far stronger than even in my previous life.
The sword glowed faintly under the moonlight.
Once, and again. Each time I swung the sword, the surrounding air tore apart. The opponents I would face tomorrow passed through my mind.
The rising prodigies of the Imperial Family and the Helios Family. As if proving that their reputations were no lie, every one of them was a monster-level expert.
But I possessed the experience gained from two lives. The combat experience of Van Descartes, and the talent bestowed by the bloodline of Winterbell.
‘Not enough. Still not enough.’
Sweat flowed down. Forgetting even the cold of the midwinter night, I continued to swing my sword.
More perfectly, more precisely.
Until every movement became a single flow.
---
Before I knew it, the moon had risen high.
I caught my breath for a moment and looked up at the sky. Tomorrow everything would begin. The time when I had to prove whether I truly deserved to stand in this place.
‘I should head back soon.’
I swung my sword one last time.
This time, everything was perfect. The feeling that the sword and I had become one. This was exactly what I had been searching for.
As I sheathed the sword, I thought.
Tomorrow, I would show them.
What kind of existence Ran Winterbell truly was.
It was then.
A voice came from behind me.
“As expected, you were here.”
It was none other than Ron Winterbell. Under the moonlight, his silver hair shimmered.
“Brother.”
“It’s been a while, Ran Winterbell.”
“It has been a long time. What brings you… here?”
“Nothing much. I was just curious about what you were doing.”
I slowly looked him over.
“It seems you’ve gained some enlightenment.”
Ron Winterbell nodded calmly.
“Seclusion helped. But… what exactly happened to you?”
“What do you mean?”
Ron Winterbell muttered as if dumbfounded.
“You’ve become even more of a monster while I wasn’t looking.”
“A monster? That hurts.”
“So you can make jokes now too.”
Ron Winterbell and I looked at each other, then burst out laughing in disbelief.
“Why not stop now? The real matches are tomorrow.”
Ron came closer to my side.
“No… are you worried about tomorrow?”
I slowly lowered my sword and replied.
“I think that’s something you should be worried about, Brother.”
Ron’s laughter echoed across the training ground.
“Ha ha, now you say things like that so naturally. In the past, you couldn’t even speak properly in front of me… You’ve changed a lot.”
At his words, old memories brushed past my mind. The days when he used to torment me, and the moment when I defeated him. But those memories now felt distant, like faint fog.
“You’ve changed a lot as well, Brother.”
“Yeah… because you changed me.”
Ron Winterbell looked up at the sky.
“If you hadn’t come to save me back then, I probably would’ve died. And…”
He paused for a moment.
“And I probably never would have changed like this. I owe you a great deal, Ran Winterbell.”
I looked at him silently. The violent older brother who once tormented me was no longer there. In his place stood a man who acknowledged his past and was trying to become better.
Ron turned while looking at me.
“If we end up meeting in tomorrow’s match…”
A strange light appeared in his eyes.
“I’ll give it everything I have. How you managed to come this far, just how incredible that strength of yours is… I want to confirm it with this body myself.”
His gaze sharpened.
“Of course, I don’t intend to lose this time either.”
“Do you think you can defeat me?”
“Yes.”
I looked back at him.
“You should.”
Then I smiled.
“I’d feel worse if you held back against me.”
Ron suddenly stopped walking.
“In that case…”
“Yes.”
“Right now… how about we lightly cross swords once?”
I hesitated for a moment. Since tomorrow was an important day, I thought it would be better to conserve my stamina. But in Ron’s eyes, I sensed something more than simple curiosity.
Right.
Lightly crossing swords once shouldn’t be a big problem. This was also my choice.
“…Alright.”
Ron Winterbell slowly drew his sword. Moonlight flowed along the blade of his sword.
“Don’t worry. This isn’t a real duel. I just… want to see how much you’ve grown.”
I also raised my sword.
The two swords pointed toward each other.
In that instant, Ron’s presence changed. His usual gentle atmosphere disappeared without a trace, replaced by a sharp tension. Perhaps because he had achieved considerable growth during his closed-door training, the mana radiating from him was incomparable to before.
‘To grow this much… it wasn’t a punishment, it was a reward. Just what exactly happened during that closed-door training?’
As expected of a Winterbell.
It was rare for someone to emit such an intense presence with just a single breath.
But I was no longer the person I used to be.
Clang!
The two swords collided. The moment the pair of blades flashed under the moonlight and met each other, sparks scattered through the cold air. The crisp sound of metal striking metal filled the training ground. The weight behind Ron’s sword was transmitted to my fingertips.
Each of his strikes carried the long tradition of the Winterbell Family, combined with his own originality.
A swordsmanship that was as beautiful as a falling galaxy, yet deadly and domineering.
Ron’s eyes widened.
He must have felt it too.
The uniqueness contained within my sword.
The alien yet natural flow of power created by the fusion of Winterbell’s swordsmanship and the experience of Van Descartes.
“This is…!”
Our gazes met in midair.
Within each other’s eyes, we could read the resolve we both carried.
We were no longer brothers of the past.
We now faced each other as equals, as swordsmen. The sharp sound of blades brushing against each other cut through the night air. The trajectories created by the two swords drew faint streaks of light beneath the moon.
Without saying a word, I slid my sword aside and stepped back. Ron’s attack split through empty air.
“May I go faster?”
“As much as you like.”
A smile spread across Ron’s lips.
His sword began to dance within the moonlight.
I received each of his strikes one by one. It seemed he had achieved not only enlightenment but also physical advancement, because every time I deflected his sword, the muscles in my arms screamed.
‘His strength is truly absurd. If we’re only talking about raw muscle power, he might even be stronger than Lux Winterbell.’
Ron Winterbell was just as surprised.
“Your swordsmanship… is clearly different from before.”
Attacks and defenses continued without pause. Every time our swords collided, the moonlight shattered into fragments.
“It’s no longer just Winterbell’s swordsmanship… there’s something else mixed into it.”
Ron’s words were accurate. My swordsmanship was gradually becoming something new—neither purely Winterbell’s nor purely Van Descartes’.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
The sound of clashing swords filled the training ground. Our breathing gradually grew heavier. We had called it a light spar, but before we knew it, both of us had become serious.
“Haa… haa…”
Ron steadied his breathing and briefly widened the distance between us.
“At this rate, we’ll be exhausted before tomorrow.”
I also caught my breath and lowered my sword.
The sweat gathered on my forehead began to cool.
“Truly… impressive.”
Ron spoke with admiration.
“To think you’ve become this strong. Now that I see it, I understand what the Patriarch meant.”
“What the Patriarch meant?”
Ron nodded.
“Yes. The Patriarch said that you would stand out in this friendly tournament.”
I was momentarily speechless.
For Arkan Winterbell to say something like that…
I could hardly imagine it.
“I never even dreamed that the Patriarch would say something like that. To be honest, it’s hard to believe.”
Ron shook his head.
“No… now I’m certain.”
He continued speaking while looking at his sword.
“There is definitely something inside you. Something beyond mere talent or effort… something greater than that.”
Moonlight poured down between the two of us. Ron slowly sheathed his sword.
“Let’s go back and rest now. Tomorrow… a bigger stage is waiting for us.”
I nodded. I had felt many things from that brief sparring session. My current level of skill, and even the direction I needed to move toward in the future.
“Brother.”
Ron turned back.
“I enjoyed the spar.”
Ron Winterbell smiled brightly as he replied.
“Ha ha, I should be the one saying that. It was a good warm-up.”
We left the training ground together.
Tomorrow we would become enemies. But at least in this moment, we were simply brothers who understood and acknowledged each other. The moon disappeared behind the clouds and then revealed itself again. Just like our relationship—once hidden in darkness, but now shining brightly.
The night wind blew. Snowflakes drifted faintly through the air.
Ron was about to turn away, but then he stopped and looked at me again.
“Ran.”
“Yes?”
“I… think you’re remarkable.”
His voice was sincere.
“In the past, I ignored you and oppressed you, but in the end you proved yourself. Even after being poisoned and becoming half-crippled, you didn’t give up and continued forward with dignity. Watching that taught me many things.”
“……”
For a moment, I forgot what to say.
For some reason, hearing those words from the brother who had once tormented me the most resonated deep within my chest.
This…
It seemed to be an emotion that I, as Ran Winterbell—not as Van Descartes—was feeling.
“…Thank you, Brother.”
Ron lightly waved his hand and turned away.
His back gradually disappeared into the moonlight.
As I watched him leave, I thought to myself.
People really can change.
No… we had all already changed.