Chapter 138

The clash between the two swordsmen caused the ground to fracture, losing even its capacity for tolerance. The wind pressure whipped up, breaking stones into tiny pieces.

The will to pierce each other’s bodies was conveyed through the tips of their swords, and the clash of their blades confirmed that intent once more.

Kwaaaaang-!

The noise of the blades colliding was an excessive volume for such an encounter.

Condensed energy lost its path and exploded in place, and the shockwaves pushed the two figures backward with their swords.

“Are you drawing your sword against me?”

Name twirled her sword in the air as if mocking him.

Mephisto remained silent, eyeing her with a deadly glare.

“…”

[Mephistopheles – Phase 1]

[HP: 3,329,079/4,444,444]

The demon’s body, repeating cuts and regeneration, had joints that were strangely deformed.

The colors were different, forcing together points of hardened clay.

No matter what sword technique Mephisto attempted, Name had perfectly countered it so far.

She showed no signs of retreat.

Instead, she boldly closed the distance, even daring to dive into the perilous, indiscriminate attacks that tore through space.

“For a swordsman, distance is like…”

Name ran toward him, drawing a straight line in the dirt with her sword.

“…a ticking time bomb.”

The edge of that straight line was the demon’s torso.

Swaaaak-!

If the thing in question had been the Imperial Palace, the banquet hall would have split precisely in half.

Despite wearing armor boasting overwhelming hardness, the demon could not withstand the impact and collapsed to the ground.

“The shorter the fuse, one of us must inevitably die.”

The reason beginners are told to create distance.

Name knew it stemmed from the advice meant for survival.

The longer the distance, the more objectively the person could think and draw out their true abilities.

But if the gap between them was narrowed, the time to make a judgment was extremely brief.

Thus, one would have to instinctively draw out the best response, an almost impossible feat without extensive experience.

The moment when their skill disparity was maximized was when they were close enough to feel each other’s breath.

The demon still resisted. He had no fear that humans possessed.

He drew his sword toward her, who charged again after stumbling and recovering.

The demon’s sword was gradually taking shape.

Its speed was increasing, reactions becoming quicker, and its stance slowly solidifying.

Yet, amidst the dozens, if not hundreds, of exchanges, it was always Name who secured victory.

Swaaaak-!

As she shook off her sword, blood sprayed everywhere.

All the thunderous clashes that had just echoed now seemed like a lie as a chilling silence descended.

Adella looked at Name with trembling eyes.

‘T-This is… madness.’

Which one was the demon?

The young man who couldn’t even put up a proper resistance and was defenseless?

Or the girl who flaunted a ghostly smile while ruthlessly dominating her enemy?

What was even more frightening was that her fencing had not even reached a level that was difficult to follow with the eyes.

How far ahead was she able to foresee and execute her movements?

Mixing her skill with swordplay felt like willingly getting dragged into a swamp.

Continuously leading the attacks, her perfect calculations ensnared the enemy in a quagmire.

-Are you insane, No Name!

-Have you been perfect until now? Not a single hit?

-Is she even human? This first part was truly suppressive.

-Healer (Physical)

-Why hasn’t this person used any artifacts?

└ She used them a lot in the first part.

└ She even used them as a mace, lol.

-This is seriously an epic mad movie…

-Why is she so good with the sword?

└ She was a Celestial Demon in her previous life.

└ Celestial Demon Rebirth, Infinite Blessing! Celestial Demon Rebirth, Infinite Blessing!

Awestruck gazes poured in.

Even viewers who had trained on countless mad movies on VTube couldn’t help but gasp in admiration.

However, Name, who had never taken her eyes off the demon, coldly asserted once more.

“Get up. You still have a lot of stamina.”

[Mephistopheles – Phase 2]

[HP: 2,848,500/4,444,444]

With such a health pool, there was no need to hold back.

How much stress had he suffered throughout his life? Even this life hadn’t been smooth sailing.

He simply hadn’t shown it.

“How dare a mere being…!”

Mephisto spread his enormous bat wings, easily several meters wide.

“Fold those wings; you contract diseases.”

[Kaizen-style Sky Slash]

The immensely enlarged blade sharply sliced through the tent.

She approached the demon, who had fallen helplessly to the ground, discarding her sword carelessly.

“Bite down hard. If you think about someone else taking the hit, it won’t feel so unfair.”

Bang-!

Her fist was charged with aura.

As she unleashed it, the ground exploded where the demon’s head was buried.

“Grrrgh! Enough…!”

“Those orphan bastards performing such thinly veiled antics.”

Bang-!

Even as her muttering was drowned in the deafening noise, she continued speaking.

The people who mindlessly left negative comments, the times she was dismissed during the Academy interviews, the careless game companies, and most of all, the organizations that had imprisoned her and her mother.

For Name, who had endured 25 years of experiences in a world where the concept of the sanctity of life was minimal, unceasing resentment had continued to mount.

Especially in a body that couldn’t contain its emotions, how long had she been able to endure?

She poured all her fury into her fists, continuing to strike the demon’s body.

Bang-!

* * *

In the year 874 of the Kaizen Empire.

“Enough, enough!”

The Marquis of Bastion, who had gained the honor of teaching the most noble individuals in the continent.

“Glory, what a load of rubbish…!”

He forcibly stopped the duel, which had reached an emotional peak, and rushed to the fallen princes.

“Your Highness, are you awake? Your Highness! Call the doctor immediately! Hurry!”

Those who had merely been spectators of the duel in a daze began to move belatedly.

The marquis’s eyes sharply turned toward the other side.

The third prince, fidgeting helplessly, and the ‘problematic princess’ who had quietly lowered her wooden sword. There was no hint of guilt on her face.

Unknowingly, the marquis clutched his head.

“What in the world are you doing! When did I say emotions were allowed in a mere duel!”

The voice of the elderly man, long since withdrawn from political life, grew even louder. It wasn’t a matter of him losing composure.

However, the marquis vaguely understood his own failures.

He had long recognized the princess’s extraordinary talents.

But how could anyone have predicted that a mere nine-year-old child would utterly crush the exceptionally talented of seventeen and fifteen?

Even the current Empire’s Swordmaster, Sir Berstaphen, would likely not have ventured to guess.

The Marquis of Bastion stepped forward to confront the princess.

“Princess Esteria.”

That address carried no honorifics.

The pariah of Kaizen. The blemish on the Iron Emperor. That was the current status of the fourth princess.

But the calm gaze she cast upon the marquis showed no sign of wavering.

“You started it first.”

The girl replied bluntly.

“I know.”

“Then go ahead and blame me again.”

“Once again, it is your fault, Princess.”

“Why?”

The girl’s gaze shifted.

The marquis swallowed hard.

She was not merely a child swayed by anger.

How frightening is a swordsman who can bear patience?

He only lamented that such talent had been given to a princess.

“Awaken to your position. This is the best advice I can give you and today’s final lesson. If you take this lightly or think to defy it, you would do well to never pick up a sword again.”

All things in the world cannot be achieved solely through force.

Sometimes, just a ploy from a gluttonous noble’s tongue could result in the most powerful warrior being executed.

Having navigated through the tempests of power, Marquis Bastion sincerely offered her his counsel.

As he returned to his manor, he couldn’t shake his thoughts about the princess.

An unparalleled natural talent.

If that talent had the backing of experience, how great of a swordswoman could she become?

Perhaps she could become a legendary figure who would flourish in this era—and perhaps even be recorded in history.

Yet, all such assumptions were futile.

The Marquis Bastion rummaged through the table drawer and pulled out a letter he’d received a few days prior.

His hand trembled as he broke the seal, carefully opened the wax-sealed letter.

His expression grew stern as he read through the words.

If she were to make a name for herself, it would likely be on the side of ‘infamy.’

[The Emperor’s Pariah is indeed the seed of the Demon Lord.]

Perhaps now that Emperor Irogan had allowed her to learn magic and swordsmanship, the young princess might already be embroiled in a dirty political struggle.

[So I hope you will manage that card for us with great care, Marquis.]

“This upcoming succession could end up with more than one or two deaths involved…”

The perceptive nobles would likely have already made their choices on whom to back.

Perhaps it would be necessary to broaden that target.

The third prince and third princess could also be granted claims to the throne.

Or perhaps even the fourth princess.