Paladin of the Dead God C.190:

Ting, ting, ting!

Each time Lianne stepped on the surface of the water, a sound resonated as if she were tapping a teacup with a teaspoon. With just three strides, she closed the distance and swiftly struck down at Isaac. It was an honest and straightforward movement, a signal marking the beginning of the duel and a warning to any interlopers.

Crack. Instead of freezing Isaac in place, the cold created a circular ice sheet on the lake beneath his feet. As he stepped back, pushing Lianne away, the thin ice shattered.

“Step back.”

Isaac ordered Edelred and the knights to retreat. While sending Edelred to the Holy Land was a priority, penetrating the defenses of this most formidable guard, who stood alone on that solitary bridge, seemed daunting.

‘Is this our first real fight?’

The first time, they both held back, feeling there was no need to exert full strength, and the second time, the situation was too tangled with numerous soldiers for either to fully commit. But this time was different. Neither could retreat unless one was killed or severely wounded.

Strands of The Color Beyond seeped beneath the surface. The lake’s hue subtly shifted—a change not lost on Lianne. However, she could not call it cowardly, as she too was borrowing the power of the Holy Sword.

Without a clear initiator, both lunged simultaneously.

Unlike the initial strike, Lianne smoothly deflected Isaac’s powerful blow. The chilling frost of Lumiarde threatened his throat.

Lumiarde’s frost was more menacing for the atmosphere it froze around the blade than for the visible blade itself. Yet her blade, instead of slicing through the neck, seemed caught by the very strike she had deflected and was dragged to embed itself into the ground.

‘What?’

Lianne’s moment of perplexity was brief, as she recalled feeling as if Isaac’s sword moves had been sticky and entangling before.

That was Isaac’s sword energy. It was like being attacked by a multitude of beasts, an aggressiveness hardly befitting a Paladin of the Codex of Light, yet Lianne considered that perhaps such ferocity was necessary even to rend angels.

As Isaac retracted his sword, Lianne felt the pulling sensation again. However, she kicked at Isaac’s abdomen, pushing him back. Being dragged into such a deadly dance was disadvantageous for her. Yet, Isaac did not easily let her go, clinging persistently and pressing her hard.

Crack, crack, crack! The sword energy rising from the Luadin Key ferociously gnawed at Lumiarde. While it wasn’t enough to damage the Holy Sword, Lianne felt as if being ‘bitten’ by that sword would cause flesh to tear away.

“You wield a bestial sword energy, Holy Grail Knight!”

But instead of fear or disgust, Lianne felt the pure joy of combat.

She had trained for a long time. She had encountered various sword techniques of diverse faiths. But she had never faced a technique like Isaac’s before.

“I’ll teach you not to bite off more than you can chew!”

In the moment Lianne adopted a new stance, a sharper coldness surged from Lumiarde’s blade. Even the Luadin Key, protected by heat, began to frost over, and Isaac felt a bone-chilling pain as if his lungs were freezing, making it impossible for him to get close again.

Lianne had now fully unleashed her sword energy. Simultaneously, the peak of the Elion Knight Order’s sword techniques, honed by Lianne, began to unfold.

A single, honest thrust. However, Isaac saw the point of her sword split into six, and those six into another six, soon multiplying into countless blades forming a fractal, blossoming into a gigantic snowflake.

It was beautiful but deadly.

Isaac’s eyes momentarily turned purple. Unintentionally, he had activated the Eye of Chaos.

In the dizzying display of swordplay, Isaac realized that among the branches of the snowflake, there was only one lethal blade. A faint understanding of Lianne’s intent allowed him to discern this.

Whoosh. Clang! With all his might, Isaac swung his sword, breaking through Lianne’s technique. As the snowflake shattered, Lianne’s eyes showed surprise. While he felt a slight bruise to his pride as he had relied on the power of miracles to break through, fighting with mere sword skills while possessing miracles was something only the devout of Elil would consider, a perverse act.

“Impressive! What about this then?”

Despite one of her secret techniques being broken, Lianne was not disheartened and immediately continued her move. Her body shot upwards and she began running through the air, using the humidity and rain in the atmosphere to instantly create stepping stones.

Her movements were light and brisk, but the intent behind her blade was still deadly.

Ordinary sword techniques assume that both the opponent and oneself are fighting on equal footing on the ground, not attacking from above or falling from the sky.

Isaac gritted his teeth against Lianne’s technique, which unfolded in even more complex variations than expected.

He knew the sword techniques of the Elion Knight Order were ornate and intricate. However, the technique Lianne displayed was on another level. To describe it as merely a fancy display of swordsmanship seemed inadequate. Isaac felt as if he was seeing snow fall for the first time in his life.

The drizzling spring rain had, against the season, turned into a blizzard.

As each snowflake harbored a blade and the wind carried a murderous intent, Lianne was fueled by a simple competitive spirit. The intent to cut down her opponent and ensure her own survival emerged not from hate or anger but from a pure desire to fight and prevail.

“Elil, oversee this duel! If your will is with me, show me the right path!” Lianne called out to Isaac, urging him to become Elil’s agent.

A duel was sacred. The victor of the duel determined the righteous path.

If you are right and I am wrong, then defeat me in this duel and demonstrate Elil’s justice!

Lianne shouted this with a murderous intensity filling her entire being.

“Show me that you possess honor!”

Thud. Isaac stomped his foot down and swept his sword upward. The resulting wave pushed back the lake’s waters, revealing the outline of a white stone bridge. As Lianne rained down attacks from above, she was startled by the sight.

Edelred and the other knights, positioned horizontally, couldn’t see what was unfolding. However, Lianne, from her vantage point, spotted a massive creature lurking beneath the lake.

As Isaac drew his sword up, numerous tentacles burst forth from the lake, striking at her fiercely.

***

Boom! In an explosive surge, a waterspout obscured the scene, preventing the onlookers from seeing what exactly happened. Yet, through the mist, the silhouette of the tentacles piercing Lianne’s body could be seen.

However, as the spray settled, everyone sighed in relief at the sight of Lianne landing on her feet, dusting herself off, even the Knights of Aldeon.

They were puzzled by their own sighs but soon understood.

This battle was worthy of respect, a fight beyond their comprehension between transcendent beings. At the same time, Lianne was the pride of Elil. They felt a conflicting emotion; they needed to surpass her yet hoped she wouldn’t be defeated.

“Huff, huff…”

Meanwhile, Lianne was feeling chills she had rarely experienced in her lifetime. Water, whether sweat or rain, trickled down her forehead.

‘What was that? A monster? No, if it had been a real monster, I would be dead. Was it just the intensity felt from the sword energy?’

That was likely. It’s well-known that the stronger the sword energy, the clearer its visible manifestations become. Lianne had enhanced this effect with the power of the Holy Sword Lumiarde.

‘But the Holy Grail Knight has no such sword. Is he really manifesting this level of power with just his sword energy?’

Lianne shivered.

The myriad of tentacles formed by the sword energy that burst from the lake were attacks that could not be easily survived if struck directly. Therefore, instead of confronting the attack head-on, Lianne diffused her form within the snowflake to scatter the attack.

This was a tactic exploiting Isaac’s sword energy’s deadly persistence on a single target. It was a move she had created but never successfully executed outside of practice, yet she had dramatically succeeded at the critical moment.

Hush… Within the pouring lake waters, Isaac stood quietly, observing her. The way he casually held his sword made Lianne feel chills again.

It was as if he was saying he could have killed her but chose not to.

‘…Bluff.’

Lianne instantly saw through his posture as a bluff but couldn’t laugh. Honestly, she doubted she could withstand another attack like the one before.

Just as Lianne thought, Isaac was indeed bluffing.

He too felt uneasy about this fight. The environment was overwhelmingly in Lianne’s favor, and with countless witnesses around, using the tentacles was not an option. Moreover, it was doubtful whether it was even possible to win without killing Lianne.

‘It’s a joke that he thinks he’s sparing me when his sword skills seem stronger than mine…’

Isaac had already been covertly exploiting miracles to a large extent, intermittently activating the ‘Eye of Chaos’ and trying to use the ‘Color Beyond’ to bind or opportunistically deploy tentacles. Yet, none of these strategies were proving effective.

‘I could kill with the tentacles openly, but…’

Then he would also have to kill Lianne and all the spectators. That would be utterly wrong.

Normally, Isaac would adapt his opponent’s sword technique to disconcert them, but Lianne’s technique, based on Lumiarde, was uniquely her own.

Even if he learned the same techniques, replicating Lianne’s power and effect would be challenging.

‘Should we just call it a draw?’ He felt like saying, but such a ludicrous suggestion would only enrage Lianne further.

“Lianne!”

Just then, Edelred shouted from the opposite side of the bridge.

“Enough! Stop fighting! Why must both of you, who seek justice, turn your swords against each other?”

“It is a sacred duel! Outsiders, stay out!”

Lianne sharply rebuked him. Yet, Edelred persisted.

“The Holy Grail Knight has vowed to return the relic to Elil and bring back an oracle directly! If so, why not seek the answer from Him? Why must blood be shed in the Holy Land?”

Lianne’s sword hand wavered.

Edelred’s words were true. If a real answer from Elil was needed, why not simply ask Him directly? Both the Holy Grail Knight and Edelred were on their way to seek that very answer.

Unintentionally, Lianne found herself responding.

“It is precisely because of that blood.”

Her voice trembled. As soon as she uttered those words, she realized why she stood on this bridge.

It was to be judged by Elil.

“My clan has already spilled far too much blood due to our mistakes! To pay for that blood, my own must join theirs! I have lost the right to be a guardian of the Holy Land!”

Lianne was convinced that she would lose this duel. If there was justice with Elil, He would not overlook her, a sinner. She believed that only by laying her corpse in this lake could she regain some semblance of the honor she had forsaken.

“Give me a chance to reclaim my honor, Your Highness.”

“I wish you would not die!”

Edelred, ignoring Lianne’s response, continued to shout. Lianne turned to him, wondering what he was talking about.

“I have realized my feelings through that last exchange! I do not wish to see you hurt or injured in this place! Even if you are a Holy Grail Knight, I will not stand by if you are harmed!”

“What are you saying…?”

The statement dumbfounded everyone, from the Aldeon troops to Georg’s men. Particularly, Lianne’s eyes shook wildly, bewildered.

While Edelred did not explicitly state his meaning, it was clear what he was implying.

“I care for you…”

Isaac was the only one not surprised by the declaration, having previously heard hints of this from Edelred.

In a flash, Isaac lunged toward Lianne, who was partially in a daze. Caught off guard, she missed her chance to counter the sudden assault.

Swoosh, crack!

Lumiarde flew out of her hand as her wrist twisted at an odd angle. Despite the pain of possibly a broken wrist, Isaac saw Lianne grit her teeth and endure. If she switched the sword to her other hand, another round of fighting would ensue.

‘It’s unavoidable.’

Isaac directed his blade toward her unguarded abdomen.

A chilling sound of flesh being sliced echoed.

Lianne, seeing the blade embedded in her abdomen, looked at Isaac in disbelief. After a moment of silence, she barely managed to speak.

“Missed the organs, bones, and any major blood vessels. It’s just a minor wound. I haven’t lost yet…”

Lianne couldn’t finish her sentence as her eyes rolled back.

Isaac had applied a wound-sealing bandage from Kaldbruch to her abdomen. As she said, it was not a mortal wound, but without receiving a healing miracle, it would be difficult for her to move for some time.

However, a Swordmaster wouldn’t die from such an injury.

Isaac, with a detached expression, gave a wry smile toward Edelred, who was staring blankly at him.

‘An attack is the best confession, after all.’

–TL Notes–

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