Chapter 27: The Sword King’s Strength

In a “King’s Duel,” magical tools are used to induce a state of suspended death, ensuring that neither combatant is killed under any circumstances. With a skilled healing mage present, one can recover afterward without any lasting effects.

As long as this system is in place, death is almost never a concern. Which means—both sides can clash their weapons without holding anything back.

"Raaah!!!"

"Tch!!!"

Sword and spear collided, scattering sparks. Shion and I were likely testing each other first—gauging skill, physical ability. I forced the fight into close quarters to prevent him from controlling the distance, yet even within what should have been my advantageous range, I couldn’t fully press the attack. That alone told me his skill surpassed mine.

The lock between sword and spear lasted no more than five seconds—at least, that’s how it felt. Whether that was accurate or not, I couldn’t say.

"Tsaah!!!"

The moment he sensed me pulling back slightly, Shion poured his strength into pushing me away. During that brief clash, we had both already realized that in raw physical ability, I held the advantage thanks to the Holy Sword’s boost.

He wanted distance—desperately. With a spear versus a sword, range defines everything. Given space, the spear dominates.

Even from beyond my reach, he could thrust, sweep, and strike from every direction, overwhelming me with a variety of attacks.

But at this close range, he couldn’t fully utilize his spear techniques. That’s why he didn’t miss his chance to break away.

"That works in my favor too, though."

Rather than resist his push, I used it—kicking off hard and leaping backward. His spear was likely a magical tool as well; otherwise, there was no way it could have endured that first clash.

Still, I had no intention of letting him think he could win just by gaining distance. And if that lock had continued, I would’ve been the first to run out of stamina.

He was a spear king candidate who had trained for nearly a decade. I was just a commoner who, until a month ago, had been dealing with drunkards in a tavern. Our base endurance wasn’t even comparable—if this turned into a drawn-out fight, I’d lose.

"Which is exactly why… I won’t rush."

I leapt far back, landed, and immediately slipped behind one of the four nearby stone pillars. Then, driving the Holy Sword into it, I ran straight up to the top.

"You won’t get away with that trick again!!!"

Of course, he adapted the second time. Separate from the spear in his hand, he hurled a shorter spear—more like a javelin—straight at me as I climbed. It flew with perfect accuracy.

I see… If this had been me a month ago, I would’ve been pinned to the pillar like a specimen.

"Sorry, but I’m used to this much."

I stabbed the Holy Sword into the pillar to halt myself, grabbed the incoming spear mid-flight, and hurled it back at double speed without killing its momentum. Without this level of dexterity—even one-handed—I would’ve died countless times in my literal life-and-death battle against Commander Richard.

Perhaps he hadn’t expected it to be thrown back—he retreated to evade. In that brief opening, I reached the top and immediately dashed down the pillar, accelerating.

With a speed only possible through the Holy Sword’s second ability—physical enhancement—I surged forward and unleashed a full-power thrust at Shion.

Focused on avoiding the returning spear, he couldn’t fully react to my charge. Even so, he barely escaped with just a graze to the shoulder.

"This kind of speed won’t last forever—!!!!"

"Yeah, it won’t. About ten minutes, though."

That brutal training—where I was forced to move at full power constantly—had dramatically increased how long I could sustain a full sprint. Without using magic, I could run for an hour straight. And with the Holy Sword’s enhancement, I could maintain this accelerated state for about ten minutes.

After that, easing up for even a minute would let me recover enough—so I didn’t need to worry much about pushing forward.

Right now, Shion stood at the center of the arena. Naturally—I had been controlling things to keep him there.

From that center, four stone pillars stood at equal distances in all directions—effectively surrounding him.

"From here on…"

Maintaining my speed, I planted “Black Star” into each of the four pillars. The target it attracted was only me. And this magic could be toggled on and off after being set.

"This is…"

All four pillars were now imbued—each containing magic that exerted a powerful gravitational pull solely on me.

"My time."

In other words—I was about to accelerate beyond a speed unreachable even with my current physical enhancement alone.

"Go."

At that word, sparks erupted at the center of the arena. The sharp clang of metal rang out—not once, but repeatedly, like percussion instruments struck wildly without rhythm.

I dashed from pillar to pillar. At each instant, I activated “Black Star,” letting its pull yank me forward as I slammed the Holy Sword into Shion.

Caught off guard by this speed, he could do nothing but defend—yet each impact sent him flying as if struck by a car.

Before he could recover, I launched again—from one pillar to another. Each activation pushed my speed even further. My legs spun faster and faster, nearing their absolute limit.

Even so—I could still go. If I couldn’t, I’d die. That pressure forced my body beyond its limits. I knew I’d pay for it later, but as long as I survived now, that was enough.

Shion barely—just barely—managed to keep dodging, but he was starting to fall behind. Small cuts began to accumulate across his body. Even so, the fact that he continued to avoid fatal blows proved his training was the real thing.

And despite the strain, there was no resignation in his expression—only urgency. He likely believed this situation couldn’t last long.

He was right. Even I was struggling to control this unfamiliar technique.

But if I slowed down even slightly, he would seize that moment and counterattack. The Holy Sword-enhanced intuition within me showed that future clearly.

"Chasing life in the face of death… isn’t something you should get used to!!!"

That’s why I deliberately slowed—just a fraction—and drove in a strike.

As intended, Shion took the bait. Judging my speed had dropped, he thrust his spear toward me. I tilted my head to avoid the strike aimed at my face, though it still nicked my cheek.

"No fear at all!?"

"I’ve got plenty—but it doesn’t matter!!!"

I knew—because I had learned it with my body—that freezing in fear meant certain death. Fear locks you in place. So I crushed it with sheer will and forced the Holy Sword forward.

The blade slammed into Shion’s armor—and before the impact fully rang out, I followed through. The Holy Sword sliced through the armor, cutting into his chest beneath it. Blood burst forth as his body was sent flying, crashing into a stone pillar.

A thunderous impact followed. Rubble and dust exploded into the air. The resulting cloud of smoke obscured my vision, making it impossible to tell where an attack might come from.

I immediately withdrew and climbed to the top of another pillar.

From above, I could see smoke filling the entire arena. My intuition rang alarm bells—something was wrong.

Most likely… this was Shion’s next move.

I steadied my breathing, which had grown ragged from all the running, and waited for the smoke to settle. Even then, I didn’t let my guard down for a second—my gaze remained fixed on where Shion stood within the haze.

"—Why do you fight in such a self-destructive way?"

Shion’s voice came from within the smoke.

"A self-destructive fight… From your perspective, it probably looks that way."

"Do you truly go this far? One wrong move, and your head could have been pierced. Even with the suspended death effect, you might have died. Is it because the ‘Saint’ is at stake?"

"Not the ‘Saint.’ What’s on the line is Alicia."

"It’s the same thing. Just as you are the ‘Sword King,’ she remains the ‘Saint.’"

"Alicia is a Saint, sure. But Alicia isn’t equal to ‘the Saint.’ Even if she weren’t one, her value to me wouldn’t change at all."

Shion’s voice, speaking as he looked up from within the smoke, carried genuine confusion—and that only made my irritation boil over.

Why could he only see her in terms of how rare her power was? That, more than anything, made no sense to me.

"As I said earlier, I believe I understand her value. No—not just me. The upper ranks of other nations understand it as well. Her healing magic, which can cure even severe illnesses, could be used in negotiations without even needing a ‘King’s Duel.’ Its worth is immeasurable."

"That’s the value of the ‘Saint.’ Where do you people see Alicia’s own value?"

"Don’t make me repeat myself. Her value lies in her healing ability and—"

"I’m not asking about the value of her power!!!!! I’m asking about her!!! Her heart, her actions—that’s what I’m asking about!!!!!"

The fact that he simply didn’t understand made my insides churn. My patience snapped. Rage burned through my mind.

"I’ve been listening, and all you’ve done is talk about her power! Not once have you said what she’s done or what she feels! You don’t understand at all that her true worth isn’t there!!! The fact that she never uses that healing power for herself—that she gives it entirely to others—that heart of hers is what’s truly valuable, and you don’t see it at all!!!!!"

"That’s because she has the luxury to do so. When someone has room to spare, kindness is simply something extra that emerges."

"When she saw her friend torn apart and on the verge of death right in front of her—and still didn’t look away, still tried to stop the two fighting—she didn’t have any ‘room to spare’ then!!!!!"

"She once said, ‘I’m sorry I can only heal.’ She didn’t even realize how much that helped. She didn’t need to apologize—but she couldn’t stop herself from apologizing for someone else’s pain. You can’t even begin to imagine how incredible that is!"

"...Let’s say, for the sake of argument, that what you’re saying is true. Then why do you go this far for her? Why do you care so deeply—enough to get this angry?"

"If an elderly person is struggling under a heavy load, you’d help them, right? I’d do the same even for a small child. So what would you do if the one carrying that burden was a young woman who’s just become an adult?"

"...What are you getting at?"

"I just want to help a girl who’s doing her best while carrying the heavy burden called responsibility. And if she’s someone important to me, then all the more reason to help."

Words alone weren’t enough. So I would show it through my actions.

"You probably don’t know this, since you only see her as a Saint—but she actually likes muscles. She loves sweets but holds back in public… though sometimes she sneaks out in disguise and buys snacks in town. She even does street magic to earn a little spending money."

"You don’t know. You don’t try to know. And I’m not handing her over to people like that."

The smoke began to clear.

Near the stone pillar he had been slammed into, I could see Shion—bloodied, battered, barely standing.

"Don’t lay a hand on someone important to me."

That was the one thing I wanted to say most.

If anyone tried to stand in the way of her happiness—I would cut them down.

I raised the Holy Sword from atop the pillar—

—and then realized my strength was failing, and half my vision was fading away.