Chapter 103
Chapter 103
The youngest young master of the Helios Family.
The figure I saw in person was far more dazzling than what I had heard through rumors.
‘I thought the Winterbell Family’s bloodline was quite something, but the Helios Family’s bloodline is just as incredible. At this point, he is handsome enough to already be called the best based on looks alone.’
At this point, it was hard to tell whether the two families were famous as sword clans or for their looks.
Even though he was a man, his features were delicate, and he had an androgynous appearance.
If he were to dress as a woman, he would surely shake the hearts of countless men.
‘He is definitely at the Ninth Star realm. I clearly heard he was the youngest…… Does the Helios Family gather only monsters?’
Lord Ron was still at the Eighth Star, so even though they were of a similar age, Ian Helios had achieved far faster progress.
‘Then just what level is Leon Helios, the legitimate heir, at right now?’
I could not even begin to estimate it.
I had heard that this generation of the Helios Family was called a golden generation, but to think it was to this extent.
Once again, I found myself thinking how remarkable they were.
Ian Helios held out his hand to me.
“Nice to meet you, Ran Winterbell. My name is Ian Helios.”
“I am Ran Winterbell.”
“This is… somehow, the youngest of each family ended up meeting one another. I look forward to your favor.”
I also extended my hand and clasped his.
From Ian Helios’s face, I could sense arrogance that went beyond mere confidence. In a way, it was only natural.
He probably thought I was a half-crippled worm who, until recently, had not been acknowledged by my family and had been cast aside.
“I also look forward to your favor.”
Ian Helios smiled. Then he began tightening his grip around the hand that held mine.
It was considerable strength. A grip powerful enough to crush a stone into powder in an instant.
‘Is he testing me?’
Maybe in the past, but not now.
My strength was no longer lacking in the slightest. I had finally completed Winterbell’s blessed body.
No, now it had gone beyond even that.
When I exerted force, a flicker of bewilderment crossed Ian Helios’s face.
“……!”
He must not have expected this kind of strength from me. As if to prove my thoughts right, the force in his grip increased even more. I did wonder whether he was wasting too much strength on a pointless battle of nerves before the spar had even begun, but it was rather entertaining. I matched Ian Helios and increased my own strength as well.
“What is it? Is something not going the way you intended?”
“……You possess a finer body than I expected.”
“Thank you for the compliment.”
When I released my strength first, Ian Helios hurriedly withdrew his hand.
He was pretending to stay calm, but I had clearly seen the look of panic from earlier.
After glaring at me for quite a while, Ian Helios climbed onto the training ground.
‘This bastard. Glaring at me like that.’
I also climbed onto the training ground. Naturally, both of our mana had been sealed by Arkan’s Makina.
Arkan Winterbell, the Patriarch of the Winterbell Family and my father, called out our names and announced that the third friendly match had begun.
An enormous roar rose from the stands. There were servants from each family there as well, but most of them were gamblers who had wagered considerable sums on us.
“Waaaaaaaah!!!!”
“The new sun of Helios! Ian Helios! Show us your powerrrrr!!!”
“The winner of this friendly match is obviously the Helios Family.”
“Winterbell’s White Wolf, Ran Winterbell! I believe in you! I bet my entire fortune on you!”
Arkan spoke in a grave voice.
“From this moment, the friendly match shall begin.”
The moment Arkan finished speaking, Ian Helios’s sword shot forward, aiming for my right shoulder.
‘This bastard attacked by surprise?’
Since I had not let my guard down, I dodged it with ease. Still, it was certainly an impressive speed. It was fast enough to make me question whether he was really not using mana.
When the corner of my mouth lifted, Ian Helios spoke in a chilly tone.
“You’re smiling? Do you find this situation amusing?”
“I do.”
His sword came at me fiercely. But I evaded his attack simply by moving my feet lightly.
Ian’s sword split the air.
Flash!
A streak of silver swept past like moonlight. From the stands, the trajectory drawn by the blade must have looked like a silver ribbon dancing through the air.
I heard Ian grinding his teeth.
“You dodge well for a rat. I suppose all you learned until now was how to run away?”
His attack split the air once more, but my body was already no longer there.
I had merely brushed past like the wind.
Startled gasps burst from the stands.
“Th-this makes no sense……”
“How can he be that fast…… As expected of the man called the divine prodigy of the Helios Family!”
Because Ran Winterbell was dodging Ian’s sword, the very sword of the man called the divine prodigy of the Helios Family, as though he were dancing.
“You bastard. Why do you keep running instead of facing me properly?!”
His sword grew even sharper.
Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!
A series of consecutive slashes poured down like a storm. Killing intent spilled from his sword, fueled by rage. The sound of the blade cutting through the air filled the entire training ground.
“That is the Helios Family’s swift sword art, Ilseom!”
“It is hard enough just trying to follow it with the eyes!”
“Ran Winterbell is dodging surprisingly well. Wasn’t he supposed to be half-crippled until recently?”
The cheers from the stands grew even louder. Some watched the training ground with anxious eyes, worried they might lose money, while others stared in wonder.
I merely smiled.
One step, then two.
Every attack did nothing but cut through the wind.
Each time Ian’s sword passed by, my body seemed to scatter like morning mist, only to gather again.
I could hear the murmurs of martial artists from the stands.
“Beautiful. Such smooth movement.”
“That is not running away. Every single movement is calculated…”
“Was Winterbell’s swordsmanship always that fluid?”
I spoke.
“Do you really think this is running away?”
At that moment, Ian’s eyes widened. While the sword he swung cut through empty air, I had already stepped right up in front of him.
“…!”
Ian hastily pulled his body back. Cold sweat formed on his forehead. It seemed he had realized that the swordsmanship he had believed to be perfect was, to his opponent, nothing more than predictable movements.
I continued.
“I told you earlier that this was amusing. Do you know why?”
“…Shut up.”
“Because the sword you’re swinging so desperately looks like child’s play to me.”
“How dare you…! A piece of trash abandoned even by Winterbell dares to run his mouth just because he has a hole in his face?!”
As expected of the youngest, seeing how easily he took the bait from this much provocation, it was obvious that compared to his talent, he sorely lacked experience. It was true that his sword boasted tremendous speed, but its simplicity made his lack of experience painfully easy to notice.
He was a typical case of someone who had surpassed his realm through talent alone.
The weakness of such people was that, compared to their level, their experience was overwhelmingly lacking, which meant they could still be defeated by a martial artist at a lower level than themselves. Normally, such a situation would not arise, but every now and then, cases appeared where someone was killed by a martial artist beneath their level.
What all such people had in common was that, compared to their realm, most of them simply lacked combat experience.
Ian’s sword came at me with even greater ferocity. This time, it was a strike carrying his pride itself. The trajectory drawn by his blade became sharper still, and its speed seemed to have reached its limit.
“Th-that, that is!”
“He is producing that kind of speed with nothing but his body? Is that even possible?”
“To be at that level with his mana completely sealed…”
But this time was no different.
To me, all of his attacks looked no more than a video playing in slow motion. It was only possible because, before entering the training ground, I had used Blood Flower Great Divine Art to heighten every reaction speed of my body.
Since this was used through the engravings carved into my body, it could be used regardless of mana.
Seen this way, this friendly match itself was actually extremely advantageous for me.
‘The experience from when I was Van Descartes.’
The memories of my previous life guided my body. The experience of thousands, tens of thousands of battles revived for this very moment. My body moved naturally, as if dancing.
Swish!
Ian’s sword grazed past and brushed the hem of my clothes.
“Ha ha! I have finally struck you properly!”
That bastard thought he had finally reached me, but that was nothing more than a misunderstanding.
Cheers erupted from the stands.
They were cries of celebration at the thought that Ian’s sword had finally grazed Ran.
I muttered,
“You are mistaken.”
“…What?”
“I allowed that.”
Only then did Ian Helios realize it. That every one of his attacks had been within my intentions. Even the hem he had brushed was something I had deliberately given him.
The crowd stirred. It seemed some people had noticed that my swordsmanship was different from Winterbell’s.
“That is impossible!”
“Wasn’t Ran Winterbell supposed to be half-crippled? Then how is he showing this kind of power?!”
“No, that is not Winterbell’s swordsmanship. It is something else…”
Ian’s sword grew even faster. His attacks, with his rage at its peak, had now become a raging gale. But that only served to exhaust him further.
“I do not think there is any need to see more. What a disappointment.”
At my words, Ian’s movements faltered for an instant.
That fleeting gap.
That was the very moment I had been waiting for.
“Shall I start ending this now?”
Ian Helios’s face turned bright red. By then, it looked as though his reason had already been consumed by anger.
“End it? End it, you say? Do you think you can decide how this match will go!!!”
Ian’s rage exploded.
His blade glowed red as it split the air.
The Helios Family’s secret sword art, Swift Sword Dance.
His sword, transcending the limits of the body, tore through the air like lightning.
Chwajajajak!!
A single red trail was drawn behind his sword.
Gasps burst out from the stands.
Because the afterimages drawn by Ian’s sword made it look as though dozens of swords were moving at once.
But I merely smiled with ease.
‘…He is definitely fast. At least compared to what he has shown so far.’
Ian’s sword came at me like a flash.
Yet in my eyes, everything looked slow. The experience of my previous life had revived for this very moment.
“This ends here!”
With Ian’s shout, his sword shot toward my neck. At that moment, I took a step forward.
It felt as though time had stopped.
My sword and his met in midair.
Clang!
A sharp metallic sound rang out as steel collided. Sparks flew in that instant. The sparks bursting from the point where the two swords met glittered like stars.
And then….
Crack!
Ian’s sword broke cleanly in two.
The severed blade spun through the air in a half circle.
Everyone’s eyes were captivated by that sight.
Ian’s eyes widened as if he could not believe it. But it did not end there.
“This… can’t be…”
My sword cut through the air once more. A silver trajectory flew toward his chest.
Chwajajajak!
The sharp tip of my sword slashed across his chest. It was not deep, but it was a definite wound. Between the torn cloth, a vivid red line was carved across him.
“Urgh!”
Ian staggered backward.
Holding the broken sword, he looked at me as though denying the world itself. As if answering him, I swung my sword once more.
Slash!
The skin at both his wrists split open, and blood burst out.
Silence filled the training ground.
“…….”
“…….”
Not a single person in the stands could even breathe.
Blood gleamed black beneath the moonlight. The dark aura that had been pouring from his body scattered and vanished like smoke. From the cut surface of the broken sword, the last embers still seemed to burn.
“Urgh… This kind of swordsmanship… it is my first time seeing it…”
He staggered as he retreated. A trail of bloodmarks followed his steps across the icy floor. The fragments of his shattered sword fell to the ground with a clamor.
“Who in the world… are…”
His voice trembled. Was it fear, or the chill of one standing before death? Blood trickled down beneath his mask.
“I already told you.”
I raised my sword. The blood beaded on the blade turned into ice crystals and fell away.
“I am just a wealthy gambler who likes Ran Winterbell.”
“No… you clearly…”
His last words broke off in midair. As his body pitched forward, a black shadow stretched long across the icy floor. The stillness of death filled the alley.
Moonlight shone with a blue hue. Over the pool of blood that was slowly growing darker, ice crystals bloomed like flowers. As if mourning death, or commemorating victory.
The mages in the rear hurriedly cast their spells with flustered expressions.
“Wandering Star of Hellfire!”
The moment I saw that, I immediately sent a slash containing frigid energy into the sky. The frozen fireballs hanging motionless in the air reflected the moonlight with a blue glow. They looked like cold stars embroidered across the sky.
The mages who had cast the spell stared upward with blank expressions.
“Impossible… This is definitely Wandering Star of Hellfire…”
The voices of the mages trembled.
This was likely the second time they had seen their proud Seventh-Circle magic neutralized so easily.
I slowly moved forward.
There was not even the sound of footsteps.
“We have to form a defensive formation!”
“Raise a magic barrier!”
“Fuck! Hurry, mana resonance……”
The mages desperately chanted. In front of them, three layers of blue magic barriers formed.
Drawing a curve at the corner of my lips, I said,
“It is useless.”
The moment I raised my sword horizontally, moonlight flowed down along the blade. What had first looked like a faint frost changed in an instant into black ice crystals. Mana wrapped itself around the blade as thin as thread, beginning to trace delicate patterns like a spiderweb.
“To stake your lives over mere money.”
The sight of blue-tinged mana flowing along the blade was like a single stream of water. That stream became colder and colder, and everywhere it passed, frost flowers bloomed. The ice crystals that began forming from the tip of the blade grew as though alive, dancing as they spread.
“You worm-like bastards.”
Winterbell’s frigid energy began to dye the surrounding air. At first, it looked like a faint mist, but in an instant it changed into particles giving off a cold radiance. They danced through the air like an aurora before transforming in a flash into sharp ice crystals.
Centered around the sword, the frigid energy spread outward in a spiral. It looked like the heart of a winter storm. Wherever that cold passed, the air froze, and within it countless ice crystals bloomed and vanished.
As moonlight illuminated the scene, it shattered into thousands of colors as if passing through a prism. The frigid energy pouring from the sword had now become a massive snowstorm tearing through the air. At its center, I stood like an incarnation of winter.
Creeeak.
The sound of ice cracking rang out. The frozen fireballs suspended in the air began to split one by one.
“Th-that is……”
One of the mages cried out as if he had realized something.
“Move! Get away at on…!”
But it was already too late.
The ice masses hanging in the air first began to tremble faintly. On their surfaces, which gleamed brilliantly under the moonlight, thin cracks began to appear one after another. Those cracks spread wider and wider, tracing delicate patterns like a spiderweb.
Crack… crack…
The sound of ice breaking echoed softly, like the ice on a winter lake melting away.
And then, in an instant, everything collapsed.
Crash!
Thousands of shards of ice poured down like a waterfall. Each fragment had its own different size and shape. Some shone like sharp spears, some like flower petals, and others like stars.
As the moonlight passed through those fragments, it created a fantastical spectacle of light. Blue, silver, and cold white radiance crossed together, forming a scene like a thousand prisms shattering at once. That dazzling rain of death poured down toward the mages’ defensive formation.
The sound the shards made as they fell was like the sound of icicles dropping in a winter forest. Yet unlike that beauty, every fragment carried deadly killing intent. The shining rain of death pierced through the mages’ bodies.
In an instant, the entire alley was filled with the cold radiance created by the shards of ice.
It looked as though the Milky Way of a midwinter night sky had come pouring down to the earth.
“Aaaaaaaagh!!!!”
“Kraaaaaagh!!!!”
The sharp ice shards pierced through their defensive magic circle. The blue barrier shattered like glass.
The last mage’s cloak was torn to shreds.
At every place pierced by the ice fragments, dark red bloodstains had spread, and his mask had broken in half, exposing a face twisted in terror.
At his feet, the corpses of his comrades were strewn about. Those who had once been powerful mages were now buried beneath cold ice crystals, sunk into eternal silence. Their bodies had already frozen white, and even their blood no longer flowed.
“…….”
Moonlight poured over the corpses, casting sinister shadows. The remnants of the shattered magic barrier were scattered across the ground like broken glass, and frost flowers were blooming atop those fragments.
His voice trembled, and every time he exhaled, white breath flowed from his lips. His eyes, once filled with pride, were now full of despair and fear. His legs trembled, yet it seemed he did not even have the strength left to flee.
The magic staff in his hand was already covered in ice crystals. That tool, which had once held powerful magic, had now become nothing more than a useless ornament.
Just like his shattered pride.
The surrounding temperature continued to drop, and only the sound of his breathing broke the stillness of that deathly silence.
“Th-this, this, this can’t be… Just what am I even looking at? Is, is, is this truly reality?”
I smiled and said,
“No. It is a dream.”
“Right. Of course. So it really was a dream…….”
In an instant, the sword flashed.
His head was severed in a split second.
His blood froze in midair and fell.
Everything was over.
Moonlight shone over the alley.
Frost flowers bloomed across the ground covered in ice and blood.
I heard Cecil’s voice.
“Young master.”
As I wiped the blood from my face, I looked at her.
“Yeah. Cecil.”
Cecil approached me, took out a handkerchief, and wiped away the blood on my face and the rest of my body.
“Let us head back. You need to rest if you are going to fight tomorrow.”
“I should.”
I had wasted strength for no reason. It could be considered no more than warming up, but I had still suffered a slight injury in my fight with the leader earlier. He had used some unusual mana, and the wound he had given me seemed to be rotting little by little.
‘I should go back and get treatment.’
Just then, Cecil asked,
“Young master, do you perhaps feel unwell somewhere?”
Her intuition was almost ghostly.
I shook my head.
“No. I am fine.”
But Cecil clearly did not believe me. She narrowed her eyes and looked over my body here and there.
Then, without warning, she reached out and touched my side.
A stinging pain slammed through my spine, and my body jerked before I could stop it.
“Urgh!”
Cecil spoke in a cold tone.
“What did you just say? That you were fine?”
“Ha ha. I guess I am not fine?”
“Get on my back.”
“Hm?”
What was she even saying? It was only a slight scratch. I had not even injured my legs. How was I supposed to let a woman carry me on her back? I had never done such a thing even once in my life, nor had I ever imagined it.
“I said, get on my back.”
“No. What are you talking about? I am perfectly fine, Cecil. It is just a small scratch. How can I possibly ride on your back?”
“…….”
“…….”
“Young master.”
“Yeah?”
“Enough talk. Get on my back.”
“No, I am really fin…….”
Cecil’s gaze was far too cold. I tried to open my mouth, but somehow I could not move. Had her gaze frozen my lips? I simply could not bring myself to speak.
“…O-okay.”
Only then did Cecil smile warmly.
Before I knew it, I ended up climbing onto her back and returning home that way. If someone who knew nothing of the circumstances saw this scene, I would look like complete trash, making a woman with one missing arm and one missing eye carry me piggyback.
Still, it was definitely comfortable.
She was even fast.
It felt like she was much faster carrying me on her back than I was when running on my own. The surrounding scenery changed so quickly that it was almost dizzying.
The fierce sound of the wind rang in my ears.
I closed my eyes for a moment.
And when I opened them again, the Annex was already in view.
‘We are already here?’
“……Get down.”
Cecil took my hand and led me to her room. Then she sat me down on the bed and said,
“Take it off.”
“…Hm?”
“Do you want to make me repeat myself? Take off your upper clothes.”
For an instant, countless thoughts flashed through my mind, but I quietly undid the buttons of my shirt.
Then Cecil applied disinfectant to the wound, and after that, she spread an ointment I had never seen before over it.
“It's an ointment made from Armid’s poison. It is an ointment specialized in purifying impure energy.”
After finishing applying the ointment, Cecil spoke.
“You may go now.”
“…….”
“Surely, you are not thinking of sleeping here, are you?”
At her teasing tone, I rose from my seat and left the room. My heart was pounding too hard for me to endure staying any longer.
I headed to my room and fell asleep right away.
The dream I had that night was very sweet.
---
The next day.
I headed toward the training ground where the friendly match was to be held.
At last, it was my turn.
My opponent was……
Ian Helios, the youngest son of the Helios Family. Unlike me, who had been half-crippled, he had apparently resembled the current Patriarch perfectly since childhood and had lived surrounded by every possible praise.
A promising genius within the Helios Family itself.
It could be said that he was a rising talent who had never once failed to meet the Patriarch’s expectations.
‘Was it said that he had recently reached the Ninth Star?’
There was a reason he was considered a strong candidate for Patriarch despite being the youngest. He was someone who possessed a blazing flame fierce enough not to be overshadowed by his other brothers.
‘As expected of the Helios Family. To think all the brothers possess such outstanding talent.’
When I arrived at the training ground, I came face to face with Ian Helios.
“Ian Helios?”
When he spotted me, he let out a faint smirk.
“Ran Winterbell?”