“Phew, it is over.”
“As expected.”
“Ilya Lindsay is stronger than I thought but it’s indeed hard to defeat the Black Knight Commander. There is an age difference of 9 years. And it isn’t like I would lose to a guy 20 years younger than me but…”
“I am 30 years older than you.”
“Ah come to think of it everyone is the same. Don’t get me wrong I wasn’t meaning to make fun of seniors.”
“…”
“Ralph? Why are you silent?”
“… my head is a bit confused.”
Ralph Penn gave that excuse to Inashio Karahan.
After dropping out of the tournament he hung out with Devan Kennedy and Inashio Karahan.
They were evaluating the game with an objective perspective with regard to talent and styles and were discussing the good things of the contestants so he was having a good time even with his shy personality.
‘But I cannot understand what just happened.’
It was possible to support one side. Maybe it was an acquaintance or a person they were fond of.
But in the previous match the two people were strange. Really strange.
The appearance of Devan Kennedy and Inashio cheering for Ignet as if they were possessed by something felt so bizarre to him.
‘Sir Inashio’s actions can be explained with his attitude but Sir Devan is a gentle person… what happened to him?’
The occurrence where the two of them were initially coughing up angry words about Ignet and then suddenly started cheering for her… Ralph Penn couldn’t figure it out.
This was because he married as soon as he turned 20 and he was in a happy marriage.
Airn and Ilya’s love which everyone frowned at was something nice to him.
“Ah now everything is sorted out.”
“Um. What more to expect… Senior what do you think?”
“About what?”
“About who will win? I wonder if Airn’s energy would undermine Sir Camrin’s skills…”
“Things like that can happen. But I have a different opinion than you.”
“Do you have any reason?”
“Yes. Both of their styles are similar. Being faithful to the basics of swordsmanship and continuing to hone it…”
‘… it is really weird.’
Ralph Penn shook his head.
Devan Kennedy was back to his calm form and Inashio was listening with a serious face.
Either way something exciting would happen soon.
Ralph turned his head to the sky and thought.
‘Honey I miss you…’
About 30 minutes later the second match of the semi-finals started.
Normally it would have taken longer. This was because the fight between Ignet and Ilya was so fierce that the entire stage was a mess.
But thanks to Jia Runtel the Queen of magicians the stage was repaired and ready to use sooner than expected.
“Seeing something like this makes me want to learn magic.”
“Right.”
“You don’t feel that too?”
“Just training with the sword is hard enough.”
“That is strange for someone who uses sorcery to say.”
“Haha is that so?”
Camrin Ray and Airn Pareira. The two of them were chatting on the stage. It was completely different from the previous match.
Needless to say Ignet and Ilya were entangled in a relationship that everyone on the continent knew about.
However there was no connection between these two currently on the stage. As gentle and good people they had no reason to argue with each other or say harsh words.
“Be careful. Looking at how things have gone till now I might over-exert myself.”
“I would prefer it if you did that.”
That didn’t mean that the matches till now were meek and soft. Following the referee’s guidance the two of them raised their heads with bright eyes.
The audience looked nervous as they watched the two people.
Unlike the first match where a lot of weight was placed on one side the second was dominated by the opinion that anyone could win.
Of course in the midst of that there were advantages and disadvantages.
The public viewed Camrin’s victory in high regard and those who participated in the Warrior’s Festival also had similar opinions.
However Inashio Karahan didn’t think that.
‘He’s a monster.’
He remembered the match he had in the Round of 16 and frowned.
The basics of swordsmanship the body and the aura… it was all different.
It was as if a 70-year-old man had become younger; he could feel the skills of an experienced man.
His senses were sharply forged so he wondered what Airn had to go through to develop like that.
Airn will win.
Camrin Ray is strong but he’s not strong enough. When they both were facing each other the latter seemed likely to win.
It was the moment when he was concentrating on the match.
Pong!
“…”
“…”
“…!”
There was a wave strong enough to cause cracks in the ground.
With that the middle-aged man stepped forward as if he had become a new being.
With one step he approached Airn and swung his sword.
Kwang!
“…!”
Airn clenched his teeth and the hand holding the sword trembled.
If it wasn’t for the calluses on his palm his hand would have bled but the speed of recovering from it was fast.
He stopped the attack again. And then slashed.
Watching the attack coming from the side Airn used the energy of steel.
Chik!
A deafening sound echoed throughout the area.
The people watching it from close by had to cover their ears and those far away were frowning.
They couldn’t take their eyes off them.
A more splendid movement occurred right in front of their eyes.
Swish!
The yellow aura sword which flew at a frightening speed turned grey when it was struck.
At the same time the pressure of the strike flowed through Airn’s sword. He let out a groan and stepped back.
The sword which spread out showed another color. It was blue when retrieving and purple when attacking.
Fighting Camrin with his ever-changing aura and swordsmanship was as if he was dealing with a person with different personalities. Airn too tried to utilize the five spirits to handle it.
Shhh.
The swords collided again and there was a force that added weight at the moment of striking and also a force that wanted to drain the attack with water.
Pat!
Tung!
Without losing speed till the end Airn let out a stab.
The ever-changing aura turned black and then blue and it was taking center stage with the intention of letting the energy expand its territory. Then came the purple swordsmanship which had a certain flare to it.
It was as if several swordsmen were taking their turns to show off their skills and the talented people in the audience were shocked.
Just mastering one style was tough so how could he have learned so many types?
And they weren’t being used individually.
Just as Camrin Ray was using heavy and quick movements Airn too was maximizing his abilities by using various elements.
“It is like watching Karakum.”
“Um…”
Clifford and Preston nodded at the words of Paige.
They knew of the Spirit techniques and there were times when they practiced them.
This was why even if it was not as great as Orcs they were able to feel what this young man was doing.
So they felt sure.
That this was unbelievable.
Surely his skills were great but against Camrin Ray he didn’t seem like much.
And after a while he began to prove the reason why people showed support for Camrin Ray.
Swish!
“…!”
An attack flew in by surprise and Airn turned his head to avoid it. It was not a fatal blow. It even felt inferior to the high control Camrin was showing till then.
The problem was that it wasn’t a one-time thing.
Swish!
Puak! Puak!
Woong!
A sharp gloomy energy sometimes as heavy as a rock locked on to Airn. And it kept going for him.
They were afterimages.
That was the part Airn hadn’t paid attention to. So it was shocking.
Camrin Ray swung his sword and the faint energy that was left in the place he previously stood wouldn’t disperse but rather it would work with him to attack Airn.
And this was just the start.
The attack which was complicated and difficult to understand flew colorfully. It started to move more and more.
Airn’s expression went stiff in a situation where it felt like he was dealing with several Masters and the expressions of those supporting him also changed.
Inashio Karahan looked at Devan Kennedy and asked.
“Did you know about this Senior?”
“No.”
“Then how were you certain? That Sir Camrin will win…”
“I wasn’t certain. However in the contest of weaving combining and linking skills together… I just thought that the experience of the middle-aged man would be more important than an ambitious young person. See that is the result right?”
“…”
“Camrin Ray knows the best way to use his versatility and Airn doesn’t.”
It looked like the match was decided.
Devan Kennedy spoke with confidence and Ralph Penn nodded beside him.
“Maybe… it depends on how long he will last.”
The swordsmen of the west were under the same conclusion too. Inashio couldn’t refute them. He was feeling angry. But he couldn’t say anything. Camrin’s sophisticated way of going for his opponent’s gaps…it was as if Bratt Lloyd’s technique was being used in a more flexible way and Airn had no counter for it.
Airn was getting exhausted and his breathing became rougher and even Inashio thought.
‘It will be tough.’
‘It might be difficult.’
It was the same as what the others thought.
People weren’t saying it out loud because Ian was right next to them but they all decided that Camrin Ray would win.
The skills Camrin had were greater than expected. The figure he was showing now with a little exaggeration could be said to be one par with one of the five strongest swordsmen.
“…”
The swordsmen of Krono fell silent in that atmosphere.
As if they were accepting their fellow disciple’s defeat.
They weren’t looking at the disciple’s swordsmanship. What they were looking at now was the heart of the disciple.
From the past 10 years ago when this child had nothing for himself to now when he found something and made it bloom and nurtured it till now along with the countless times he suffered…
Everything is different from the previous life of their disciple.
He wasn’t someone who was obsessed and stayed alone. He was never cold nor cruel or ruthless to people.
He was in the hearts of many.
He was like a huge tree that inherited the hearts of many people and grew solely with his own dreams and beliefs.
It wasn’t brought up alone and it wasn’t lonely. And so he could become stronger.
Ian mumbled.
“Finally he found his sword.”
10 minutes passed.
Then it became 30 minutes. Camrin Ray kept attacking him throughout this time.
He was like an unstoppable wind and rain constantly tormenting Airn.
But Airn didn’t fall.
He wouldn’t wobble or stagger.
“Phew Phew.”
“Phew phew…”
On the stage where the both of them were breathing in a rough manner.
Camrin Ray realized that his sword would never break the will of this young man.
And right after that.
“Huhu”
With his sword brought down he looked at the referee below and said.
“I lost.”
“…”
“I will admit defeat. The winner is Airn Pareira.”
That was the moment when the participants for the finals were decided.
