〈 196th Episode 〉 Gwen

*

‘Huh?’

Gwen’s eyes widened.

Suddenly, flames blossomed like flowers from the sword held by Allen.

It was clearly a sign that the Rose Sword had been activated.

‘How on earth?’

Was his previous statement a lie?

He said that he wasn’t from the Reedval Family.

‘No, maybe it wasn’t a lie.’

He mentioned he wasn’t from the Reedval Family, but he never said he didn’t bear the Rose Emblem.

Moreover, the way he activated the Rose Sword now seemed precarious.

‘Could it be that he doesn’t have much blood of the family?’

But why was Allen helping her?

Burning himself with a half-activated Rose Sword to aid her.

Why go that far to help her?

It felt strange.

After being born into a cursed fate.

No one had helped her.

Everyone thought her dream of finding the Rose Sword was a foolish dream.

Despite that, she had walked down this lonely path by herself.

There was no other path for her.

And the only one who helped her on that path was herself.

‘At least there was the Divine Seat…’

That guy had tried to delay her quest to find the Rose Sword deliberately.

In fact, she hadn’t even been able to make contact with him for years.

But Allen had come here now to save her.

He could have escaped at any time; instead, he chose to keep his promise to meet again.

She felt immensely grateful.

‘Actually, I wanted to see him.’

She had shouted for him to leave and escape, but deep down, she knew her true feelings.

For some time now, she had always wanted to see him.

Rather than being in this prison, she wanted to return with him to the inn and spend a peaceful life together.

‘But that’s impossible.’

She knew the reality.

It was impossible for Allen to defeat Karkel.

Even if he did win, both Allen and she would be destined to run away forever.

Whether he realized it or not.

The flames that his sword created were incredibly powerful.

When they descended upon Karkel, Gwen could sense her side’s defeat.

But the result was different.

With a loud explosion, Karkel evaded Allen’s attack at an astonishing speed.

He leaped towards Allen, who was thrown back from the rebound.

In that instant, Gwen shouted.

“No!”

It was almost a scream.

But with that voice, she couldn’t help Allen.

Karkel’s armored fist had struck Allen squarely in the back.

Bang!

Allen fell at a tremendous speed, his body twisted.

Seeing Allen like that, she tried to move to help him, but the special restraints didn’t release her.

“Allen…!”

At that moment, she saw others who appeared to be Allen’s allies rushing from the opposite side.

But judging by Allen’s falling speed, it was clear he would hit the ground before they could arrive.

Then it happened.

In an instant, Allen’s eyes met hers.

‘Allen?’

In that moment, she saw the life returning to Allen’s eyes.

She intuited from that look.

‘He hasn’t given up yet?’

Allen had already tasted the overwhelming difference in power.

Moreover, he was clearly not in good condition due to the backfire from the Rose Sword.

Yet he didn’t let go of the sword.

Instead, he somehow slowed his falling speed with some ability and adjusted his posture.

‘That posture is…?’

She recognized it too.

‘Reedval Family’s swordsmanship?’

No, there was something even closer.

‘My swordsmanship?’

*

In the fleeting moment of descent.

I saw in Gwen’s eyes.

The path she had taken until now.

In just a few years, or perhaps in a matter of months, she had wandered for decades to bloom.

Having the memories as a player, especially as Sung Yoo-rang, I fully understood her efforts.

‘So, I will borrow that will for now.’

Using the Wind’s Power, I slowed my falling speed as much as possible and adopted the Reedval sword stance.

No, to be precise, it was Gwen’s sword stance.

Of course, it wasn’t the first time I attempted to combine Gwen’s sword skills with Libero’s.

I had tried countless times on my own and also somewhat combined Gwen’s sword techniques when teaching Libero’s swordsmanship to Elsie.

But looking back now, what I had combined those times wasn’t a true representation of Gwen’s swordsmanship.

‘What’s the use of just mimicking the moves?’

Ultimately, the unique speed of Gwen’s swordsmanship was something I couldn’t replicate.

And that speed came not just from technique but from her will as well.

‘The Rose Sword.’

As I activated the sword, flames again burst forth from it.

I swung it straight towards Karkel above.

Karkel again fired off his limbs from midair to evade the attack.

But there was more to follow.

The characteristic of Gwen’s swordsmanship was the swift strike.

Unlike Libero’s swordsmanship, which took emotional and physical advantage over the opponent with extreme mastery, she was forced to strike twice when others swung their sword once.

Swish

As soon as I saw the first attack miss, I immediately followed up with a second flurry.

Though aimed at Karkel’s weakness as he evaded in a straight line, Karkel suddenly altered his course and shot back in the opposite direction.

‘If he moves like that, then moving in a straight line wouldn’t be a weakness.’

Fundamentally, there are no weaknesses for Saint-level heroes.

He had eliminated his weaknesses by mastering such movements.

Unless there were limitations on the power of the cylinders attached to him, that is…

The power in the cylinders embedded in his relic was likely his magic.

But judging by his previous style, it seemed that his magic was quite abundant.

If anything, it was I who was at a disadvantage.

Swish

Relentlessly pressing the attack.

Sure, the situation was remarkable in that Karkel was solely focusing on dodging, but it was undeniably a disadvantageous position for me.

The heat of the Rose Sword continued to inflict hazardous damage upon me.

It was akin to Gwen’s entire life.

In the brief time, even through pain, she had perpetually fought through it.

Her will was present in my sword strikes now.

Karkel, evading my dangerous flurry with just a brush of his side, shouted.

“Allen Pleuk, stop! I don’t want to kill you!”

He seemed to understand that if this continued, I would perish.

“It’s meaningless! You’re just self-destructing!”

He was right.

He had indeed been evading my barrage.

To anyone watching, my flurry seemed utterly pointless.

‘This is how Gwen has been perceived.’

While she desperately tried.

Everyone looked at her with pity.

They told her she’d never find the Rose Sword, that she should find a successor instead after retirement.

And then, she ended up imprisoned all because of me.

But…

‘I will prove that all your struggles held meaning.’

I was going to save her now.

This was all thanks to her, who tirelessly searched everywhere to find me.

If she hadn’t helped me, this wouldn’t have happened.

So I could say it.

‘Everything you’ve diligently built until now… it all meant something.’

I would show that to her now.

‘Am I reaching my limit?’

My body, which had been somehow holding on through mental awakening, was indeed nearing its limit.

‘If so…’

Now it’s time.

With that conclusion, I raised the Rose Sword above my head.

Karkel sensed something was different this time.

Bang!

He immediately fired off his cylinders, but there was no escape.

‘Time’s Domain.’

In Libero’s swordsmanship, the Time’s Domain doesn’t only mean stopping time.

Libero’s swordsmanship can literally transcend time.

It had been proven 500 years ago when Libero’s will manifested in the Leim Kingdom.

So, what needs to be proven this time…

Is Gwen’s will.

‘This is a swordsmanship infused with Gwen’s will.’

So, the name of this swordsmanship is ‘Gwen.’

The world began to slow down as if it had stopped.

From the embers left by what seemed meaningless to my barrages, flames began to reignite.

Swish

Swish

Swish

I couldn’t replicate Gwen’s incredible speed of flurries.

But by combining Libero’s swordsmanship in this manner, to some degree, it was achievable.

This was the swordsmanship I called Gwen.

At that moment, all the barrages I had unleashed in the past filled the space with flames.

Flames formed petals, and together they created a massive flaming rose.

Even Karkel, who had managed to evade all until now, couldn’t escape this time.

“Graaahh!”

In an instant, Karkel’s figure disappeared into the flames.

I began to walk towards Gwen, leaving him behind.

I sensed that my time standing was running out.

However, it was then.

Bang!

The source of that sound was unmistakable.

The sound of Karkel’s cylinders firing.

Turning around, he had somehow escaped the flower of flame and landed on the ground.

‘Damn, he’s tough.’

Indeed, a Saint-level hero is just that.

Of course, he looked terrible, having sustained considerable damage as well.

His clothes were burnt or soaked in blood, and the glass of his gas mask was shattered, revealing his face.

And that face was riddled with ugly scars.

“Quite an unsightly face, isn’t it?”

However, it wasn’t just any ordinary scar.

Even I was intrigued.

“How did that happen?”

He bitterly smiled and replied.

“It was the price I paid for defying the High Priest in my youth. Back then, I thought I could win against anything. But what was worse than this face was something else.”

He pointed at me.

“Unlike you, who elicited an overly sensitive reaction from the High Priest, I was just dismissed. Seeing my appearance now makes me understand his judgment back then.”

“So, you had expectations of me?”

“Yeah, if I were to say expectations, then I suppose so. Maybe it was jealousy too. I just wanted to know what kind of person you were for the High Priest to respond like this.”

In that case, his goal had been achieved.

“Then is this sufficient?”

In this situation, he clearly held the advantage.

He was still well enough to fight, while I was standing precariously.

Yet, the fact that he wasn’t coming after me meant only one thing.

He had just confirmed what he had wanted to see from me.

And he acknowledged it.

“I concede. It’s my defeat.”

He knelt down to make it evident to his subordinates as well.

And then he restrained his subordinates, who were about to charge at me, with a look.

“Allen!”

Confirming that the duel had finished, Sara and my allies began running towards me.

But I had already reached Gwen.

I wanted to hand this sword to her myself.

“Gwen, I kept my promise.”

Tears flowed from her eyes as she took the Rose Sword.

It was a sight I could never have imagined in my memory of Gwen.

“Allen, why would you go this far…”

“Because I need your strength.”

With her, I could unleash my utmost power as long as I put everything on the line.

But the bigger reason was…

“And I want you to be happy.”

That was the feeling I had held in my heart since saying goodbye to her in Basilium’s small village.

“Now, quickly activate the sword.”

That way, she could live for another day, or perhaps a few more hours.

“Okay.”

Gwen nodded, gripping the sword tightly with her small hands.

At that moment, warmth began emanating from the sword.

I closed my eyes feeling that warmth.

Thank goodness.

*