< 63. Interim Evaluation (5) >
#63
-I’m sorry Adeshan. Still not bad right?
“Ahh!”
As Ronan whispered my vision darkened. She sat down and Adeshan clutched her neck.
‘I got cut…!’
She must have felt it. Something sharp and hot passed through her neck. She wiggled and Adeshan withdrew her hand and tilted her head.
“uh…?”
Contrary to expectations that her hands would be covered in blood there was nothing on them. She hurriedly felt her neck but found no wounds. Suddenly a familiar voice came from next to her.
“You’re here.”
“I’m instructor Nabirose?!”
Ade Shan stood up in surprise. As she looked around she finally realized that this was the first arena where Butterfly Rose’s classes were held.
The students who were eliminated were gathered together in groups of threes and fives and talking. On one side medical staff were treating injured students. Nabirose said.
“Bow your head.”
“yes?”
It was a spell she didn’t understand but Adeshan did it anyway. Suddenly Nabirose began stroking her head gently. She asked Ade Shan in a confused voice.
“Instructor…?”
“Congratulations. Third place.”
Ade Shan’s body stiffened. It was just as Ronan said. Her expression which seemed to brighten for a moment then darkened again. A gloomy voice escaped from inside her limp hair.
“…I didn’t do anything.”
“You deserve respect just for surviving this long.”
“All I could do was follow her junior around.”
“no. Her strike in the battle with Eiun wasn’t too bad. That’s how I see it too.”
“yes? How do you do that…?”
“Look over there.”
She said Ade Shan lifted her head. Only then did she notice that all of her students were looking in one direction.
An image was projected on the southern wall of the arena. The video which seemed to have been taken from the air as if borrowing a bird’s perspective projected a familiar image of the island. Adeshan’s eyes widened.
“Ooh that’s where we took the exam right?”
“okay. It was being broadcast from the start of the test. “Originally there were more viewpoints but that’s the only one left.”
In the video the battle between Ronan and Schlieffen was in full swing. The students were doing their own thing but could not take their eyes off the video.
“In good conscience shouldn’t we exclude those two from now on…?”
“It feels like a battle between wizards not swordsmen.”
Two whirlwinds were struggling and destroying the forest. The figures of Ronan and Schlieffen were repeatedly disappearing and appearing for an instant.
Kaaaang! Every time the two people touched each other a metallic sound was heard that could make the arena vibrate. Nabirose said.
“Don’t try to refer to those two. “Because they are strange in many ways.”
“…yes. “I know.”
Adeshan habitually adjusted his collar. Even if I wanted to analyze it my eyes couldn’t keep up. Both Schlieffen who dealt with non-standard aurors and Ronan who confronted them were far outside the normal range. I furrowed my eyebrows with butterflies as I stared at her for a moment.
“Anyway I don’t think that coat is yours. “Is it who I think it is?”
“yes? This is…so….”
Adeshan hesitated and could not answer. Nabirose looked up at the assistant’s blushing face and snorted.
“It’s done. “It’s okay to be fierce so try your best.”
“It’s not like that!”
Adeshan shouted. She desperately denied these hasty rumors of an affair but she never took off her coat. The battle in the video was approaching its climax. Kaang! Every time a metallic sound rang out cheers erupted from the students.
****
Thirty minutes have passed since the battle began. Ronan and Schlieffen who had come down the hill were fighting using the forest as their battlefield. Sigh! Every time Schlieffen swung his sword the sword energy fired was chopping down the trees. Ronan who managed to avoid the sword by ducking rushed towards him and shouted.
“Get lost!”
Ronan leapt stepping on a fallen tree. He swung vertically and brought his sword down. It was Nabirose’s spinning sword accelerated by the flow of mana.
“Ugh…!”
It was not an attack that could be blocked or avoided. Schlieffen fired his sword energy forward and recoiled. Quaaaang! The ground where he was was neatly divided and the fallen leaves he had laid on rose upward. Just as Ronan was pulling out La Mancha from the ground Schlieffen’s slash flew towards him.
“It’s a plague…!”
Ronan hastily raised his sword. Kaga River! Sparks flew into the air and three metallic sounds rang out. Ronan kicking up a leaf to block his view threw his body back.
“You bold bastard. “When did you copy that again?”
“That was a good technique.”
“This is why I hate geniuses.”
Ronan laughed. Three slashes compressed into one stroke. This was the technique Ronan used during his first encounter with Schlieffen. Ronan ran out and swung his sword again. The two blades collided in succession and stopped touching each other.
The two were able to look at each other’s movements through the flickering blades. Ronan laughed when he saw Schlieffen’s face drained of blood.
“It’s worth seeing. “Are you feeling dizzy?”
Her dark blue hair which was always calm had been tangled for a long time. There were deep wounds on his right side and left shoulder. The blood flowing down his thighs did not stop and it seemed like he would collapse from excessive bleeding if time passed. Schlieffen answered dryly.
“I don’t think it’s what you want to say.”
“That’s right.”
However Ronan’s condition could not be said to be any better. If it was severe it was even more severe. Drops of blood were dripping from his forehead.
The aftermath of the storm sword that could not be cut or avoided left dozens of deep and shallow cuts on his entire body. The shirt which was already tattered was soaked in blood and sticking to the body. Ronan feeling his legs slowly becoming heavier twisted his lips.
‘Damn it it has to end.’
Schlieffen was gradually adapting to Ronan’s pace. He was truly the greatest genius on the continent. The game had to be won in a forest with many terrain features that could cause variables. Suddenly the corners of Schlieffen’s mouth rose slightly.
“I am happy. Ronan.”
“What kind of bullshit are you talking about all of a sudden?”
“I’m serious. “I am just grateful to heaven for giving me a partner like you.”
“What a funny bastard. “Yamma do you know that you are the strongest in the world?”
Ronan laughed as if he was dumbfounded. Of course that will happen in a few years. Schlieffen who passed the terms and conditions was the best prosecutor on the continent that no one could deny.
But not now. Just by looking at Butterfly Rose’s aura right now he would freeze like a rat in front of a snake and his head would be blown off without even being able to compete with the current sword saint Jaifa. It was Ronan’s car to scold him for his arrogance.
“Of course there are many people stronger than me in the world. Not yet. But I am confident that I will surpass them all.”
“And Jaifa and Nabirose?”
“Yes.”
“This guy is more unlucky than I thought.”
Ronan spat on the floor. Schlieffen continued.
“But you Ronan are the only ones I don’t feel that confidence in. You will become stronger. “Maybe you will become stronger than me.”
“I know that.”
“I plan to show everything in this match. So you too…”
At that moment the surrounding mana swirled and was sucked into Schlieffen’s body. Ronan grabbed the hilt of his sword. A feeling of anticipation was rising above the sword body of La Mancha who drank the blood. Schlieffen who pushed away his sword shouted as if he were vomiting.
“Show everything!”
The two bodies fell. Ronan who had read the mana current was preparing to attack again. The storm aura came up wrapping around Schlieffen’s sword.
“Fuck you again…!”
Ronan cursed and suddenly stopped. Schlieffen’s sword thrown diagonally drew a wide arc. Whoa! A huge half-moon shaped sword was shot towards Ronan.
‘You can’t cut it.’
The storm sword was different from other swords. If you cut it off hastily you could have been hit by a whirlwind shooting up from the point of impact.
Most of the injuries suffered now occurred early in the fight. The sword energy that had been slashed without realizing it turned into two tornadoes and tore Ronan’s body apart.
“Hmm!”
Ronan who was glaring at the sword until it almost touched him twisted his shoulder. Wedge! The sword that brushed his nostrils just a page away disappeared behind Ronan.
It was the moment when Ronan relieved kicked off the ground and tried to run away. Whoosh! Another sword flew at an oblique angle and landed at Ronan’s feet. Ronan’s eyes widened.
“This bastard has some tricks…!”
I couldn’t see it because it was overlapping with the previous sword energy. Ronan hurriedly tried to bite his body but Schlieffen fired his sword energy again and stopped the move. Quaaaaa! A storm of mana spread out like an explosion and engulfed Ronan.
“Kaaaaak!”
His blood spattered. In an instant deep cuts were carved all over his body. Ronan swung his sword as if he was striking a net. I thought the situation would get better for a moment but once the wind started to blow it continued to blow without stopping.
Soon the shapeless storm transformed into a whirlwind with a radius of up to 10 meters. It was a whirlwind of slashes like a sword strike. Trees that had been completely uprooted from their leaves and rocks were blown away by the wind and were decomposing.
“…Whew.”
Ronan’s figure disappeared from sight. There were no more screams. dump. Schlieffen fell to one knee. Blood flowed from his side and shoulder forming a small puddle at his feet.
“Janjaeju….”
Schlieffen laughed self-deprecatingly. He hid the aura-laden sword energy behind the normal sword energy and fired it. If he were his original self it would have been an act he could not have imagined.
But he didn’t think he could win without such a game. Both of the two slashes allowed to Ronan during the fight resulted in serious injuries.
‘He’s really…an animal.’
Only after strengthening the physical abilities of the entire body with mana were they able to fight on equal footing. Schlieffen spat out the blood that had accumulated in his mouth. At that time the recognition bracelet on his wrist caught my eye.
‘Now that I think about it the winner…how does he return…?’
My vision was blurry. Because he had lost a lot of blood normal thinking was not possible.
The wind was slowly dying down. Objects that had risen high in the sky were falling. Most of them were disintegrated into shapeless pieces but only a few large trees retained their original form.
The shadow created by the tree was cast overhead. It was a car where I picked up a knife to cut it properly. An indescribable chill ran through Schlieffen’s body.
“no way.”
Schlieffen raised his head. A shadow emerged from the top of the tree. His face hardened as he made eye contact with Ronan.
“I guess I was eliminated…!”
Ronan was coughing up blood as if he had just been rescued from the cauldron of hell. He clung to a huge tree and desperately tried to ward off the rushing wind. Although he avoided elimination he could not avoid being seriously injured.
‘I have to finish it this time.’
Ronan grabbed the hilt of his sword. It seemed like the moment I relaxed even a little bit I would lose consciousness. He immediately fell towards Schlieffen with his sword in front of him.
Schlieffen got up from his seat and fired his sword as if to intercept him. Suddenly! The unstable sword energy was cut in two by Ronan’s slash and disappeared across the sky. Schlieffen gritted his teeth.
“Ronan…!”
Ronan and La Mancha were already in sight. It was a distance that could not be avoided or prevented. Schlieffen raised his sword with all his might and struck at his feet. Quang! A whirlwind with a radius of about 1m shot towards Ronan.
‘You crazy bastard!’
A sharp wind struck Ronan. Every time I swung my sword for defense the falling trajectory was distorted.
Ronan barely raised his head and glared at Schlieffen. He was in such a critical condition that he felt like he would die if he even got hit by bird droppings. However the distance was so narrow that the sword could not reach it.
‘Somehow just once…!’
Eventually Ronan gave up his defense and took a stance. In an instant the cold wind of anticipation passed by clawing all over my body. After catching his breath Schlieffen delivered a slash. At that time a shock as if he had been struck by lightning ran through Ronan’s whole body.
“Fuck!”
Ronan frowned at the unexplained pain. But he had no reason to question it. He swung his sword with the intention of receiving a slash. For a split second Ronan saw what looked like a very thin wave being shot along his sword path.
“uh?”
Suddenly! A red line appeared on Schlieffen’s chest and his blood splattered. At the same time a slash that twisted the trajectory struck Ronan in the neck. The two people’s faces distorted and disappeared.
