Love Letter From The Future

“Olmar’s defeat, that body technique… it’s the forbidden art of the Holy Kingdom, isn’t it?”

“Hmm.”

“And the peculiar trajectory of the axe you threw at Aisia… could it be that you’ve received training at the Sword Circle?”

“I don’t know.”

Though my answer may seem dismissive, I am only speaking the truth right now.

I honestly don’t know. How do I know these skills? My body has somehow accepted them as instinct, as if they are naturally a part of my practical combat.

My tangled memories show no signs of unraveling. A headache kicks in, and I slightly frown.

Regardless of my state, the suspicion in Senior Delphine’s eyes grows darker. With a serious tone, she questions me.

“You’re not joking, Lord Handaxe. The usage of these techniques is prohibited outside legitimate practitioners. They require extensive training, yet you claim to know nothing about them?”

Senior Delphine’s words are nothing but pure logic. The forbidden art of the Holy Kingdom is one thing, but the gathering of swordsmen known as the Sword Circle is famous for its exclusivity. Living secluded in the Heavenblade Mountain, they only practice swordsmanship until their death.

It’s a place for disillusioned swordsmen to seek respite. Legends say that numerous skills are developed and transmitted within this group, but no teaching occurs outside without initiation into the Sword Circle.

Naturally, I have never even set foot there. Had I been initiated, I would have severed ties with the secular world and wouldn’t be standing here.

Even revisiting it sounds absurd. I let out a laugh.

“Could Senior Delphine be mistaken?”

“…You have no intention of speaking, do you? Fine.”

Senior Delphine’s sword tip points at me. An aura, like brilliant gold, begins to rise. The intense heat distorts the scenery around us.

“She was the one who shattered Ceria’s Golden Lionsword with a single strike. Can I withstand her?”

It’s impossible. Until recently, I would have said so. However, at the moment, I feel an overflow of mana, and some instinctive command overpowers my thoughts.

I take a deep breath, calmly meeting Senior Delphine’s gaze. She, too, stands motionless.

The deadlock breaks simultaneously. Both Senior Delphine and I push off the ground and dash forward.

An explosion-like sound of compressed air releases.

It’s Senior Delphine. By simply pushing off, she reaches a terrifying acceleration, appearing before me in an instant.

And we collide. Sword meets sword. With a loud clang, my sword is deflected. The impact is overwhelming.

Even with all this mana, I only have two functioning arms, limiting my sword’s strength. I grit my teeth, arching my upper body back quickly. The blazing heat brushes past me.

It feels as though molten metal is flowing, so intense I feel my skin burning in that brief moment. It’s then that I realize.

From the beginning, this was an opponent I shouldn’t clash swords with. At this level of heat, my sword would bend like candy, and I’d likely end up severely burnt. She’s a tough opponent.

As I rise back up with the grace of a spring, I swing my retrieved sword. Senior Delphine’s sword strike is aiming directly at me. The sword cut is purely functional, staying true to its purpose.

A sharp trajectory meant to take a life.

Even during the Hunting Festival, taking a life isn’t excused. However, it was possible to cause an injury that could be treated.

This stems from the nature of the former emperor Aidalos when he created the Hunting Festival. It’s not only about hunting monsters but also about hunting other students.

Thus, Senior Delphine and I had even discussed it beforehand when entering the forest. Although rare, conflicts during the festival aren’t unprecedented.

The probability is low. Even though hundreds participate and the forest is vast, it’s more advantageous to hunt monsters rather than risk attacking another person. The time consumption is too high.

Of course, unless you encounter game that could ensure your victory, like now.

Collisions were banned near the forest’s entrance. Thinking one could avoid trouble by merely observing that area, I was surprised to find myself facing Senior Delphine.

This monster of a senior is fighting with true intent now. It appears her aim is to kill rather than subdue. But Senior Delphine wouldn’t truly do that.

She’s simply supremely confident. A brazenness that doesn’t even consider the possibility of stopping if necessary.

Isn’t that Delphine Yuridina? But I prefer being resourceful and surviving.

Clang! Senior Delphine’s and my swords clash again. This time it’s different. While she slashes with the edge of her sword, I block with the flat surface.

I push her back, gaining some distance. Realizing my intentions now, Senior Delphine instead closes the gap, stepping forward.

Several sword strikes pass back and forth. With each one, due to the lack of strength, my sword is deflected, and I keep stepping backward. Senior Delphine smirks, finding it amusing.

Still, I quietly breathe and stare at Senior Delphine.

I sense it. Some kind of distortion, an elusive and vague feeling.

Memories begin to unravel. Threads of alien recollections are tangled everywhere.

In the hazy scene, a woman speaks with an indifferent voice.

“Stillness amidst motion.”

“What?”

Utterly baffled, I repeat her words. But the woman doesn’t appear smug or sarcastic. Simply stating a matter-of-fact truth.

“It’s about the convergence of motion and stillness. One of the most central teachings of the Sword Circle.”

“How is that even possible?”

“Why wouldn’t it be? All motion originates from stillness, doesn’t it?”

Her gaze is melancholic. That exhausted look seems particularly heart-wrenching. The man silently wields his sword.

“Observantly scrutinize your surroundings. Those you think are stationary and those you perceive are moving.”

Following the man’s swordplay, the scenery is split anew.

“Once you can no longer distinguish between motion and stillness, you’ve entered the first stage.”

I snap back to reality as the echo of her voice disappears. Senior Delphine’s relentless attacks grow fiercer.

Clang! Once again, swords clash. My arm muscles are overworked and sore. Gritting my teeth, I force strength into my arms.

Inevitably retreating, Senior Delphine’s sword slips through the gaps. She looks like a predator before its prey.

“Even you seem to find some time to spare, Lord Handaxe?”

At her murmurs, her figure shoots forward.

A sudden acceleration. She still had enough reserve power. And her sword strikes downward.

It’s a familiar posture. Somewhere I’ve seen it before.

Ceria flashes through my mind. The forbidden sword technique of the Yuridina family she demonstrated twice today.

As soon as the thought crosses my mind, I immediately throw myself backward. There’s no time to worry about pride. The proof that my decision was correct quickly follows.

Simultaneously, five golden streaks of light carve through the air.

It’s like a lion’s claws have scratched by. The world seems to bleed golden light in the instant the wounds appear, making it impossible to distinguish real from fake.

I roll on the ground, gasping for breath.

The ‘Golden Lion Sword’ technique. For someone already struggling to parry each strike from Senior Delphine, taking this would be beyond me.

What should I do now?

If I can’t approach, I won’t be able to conclude this fight. If I continue retreating, I’ll surely fall to Senior Delphine, considering my physical disadvantage.

But rushing in recklessly means certain defeat to such a terrifying sword technique. The sheer complexity of five cuts confuses the senses, already causing my spine to stiffen in anticipation.

Is there no way to counter this? Even while gasping, I strain my memory.

Thinking back, how did the monsters counter Ceria’s Golden Lion Sword?

They dodged.

If an attack is evasive enough and remains outside the range of the technique, it’s enough. If I narrowly avoid it, a counter is possible.

However, the attack consists of five simultaneous cuts, making it a trajectory nearly impossible to avoid. This is the true fear behind the Yuridina family’s secret technique.

At the moment when a weak conclusion of giving up seems about to take hold…

A sudden memory races through my mind. The tales of Tean, Reto’s words.

‘Space’ and ‘distortion.’ And ‘topology.’

Images of all kinds of shapes and coordinates flood my mind. They warp, twist, but if they are fundamentally one…

I don’t have much time to contemplate. Biting my teeth, I roll across the ground again. The golden glow fills the space where I just was.

A hissing sound of earth burning madly echoes off in the distance. Struggling, I rise to my feet.

“Disappointing, Lord Handaxe? You’re merely stalling for time?”

Senior Delphine smirks, looking relaxed. In contrast, I have only one functional arm, utterly exhausted.

There’s no other option but to try and walk this path. Without answering, I instead pull out the dagger she gave me.

Senior Delphine deflects the sudden attack with no hint of panic. The dagger spins through the air.

Taking advantage of this gap, I surge forward. Despite the obvious weaknesses, her overwhelming physical abilities quickly close the gap.

And, as expected, the lower strike comes.

The monster twisted its body to evade, but I’m merely human. I lack the capability to contort myself like that.

So the answer is singular.

Distorting something else.

I recall the strange story from unfamiliar memories. That which moves and does not move.

With consecutive accelerations, time seems to slow down. And as Senior Delphine’s sword begins to draw that golden dot…

Time finally stops. That elusive feeling starts to return. Now I see it.

The visual analysis deciphers space. The moments splitting into smaller moments.

The woman was right. That which I thought didn’t move—was moving.

Space connects like a line. And that line becomes a point and dissolves into nothingness.

I grab the line like tearing through a topology problem.

It is a bizarre sensation. The five golden streaks distort and collapse. I dart through the gap.

Senior Delphine’s blood-red eyes widened in shock first catch my attention. That’s when my sword strikes.

Still, Senior Delphine isn’t an easy opponent. In that brief time, she amplifies her strength to pull back her weapon and counterattacks upward.

With a loud clang, my sword flies into the air. My overworked muscles couldn’t withstand the unexpected shock.

As my stance collapses, just before the fight concludes…

I call the name of a comrade I’ve always trusted to return to battle in a short period of time.

“Ceria!”

Senior Delphine’s eyes dart toward the rear. There, Ceria whom I had dispatched with a dagger during our earlier exchange, was already close enough to charge toward me.

And the three blue streaks carved through the air.

Time resumes its flow. With a crackling sound, all Ceria’s sword marks shatter simultaneously from a single sweeping stroke.

Ceria once again flies back with a scream, but unlike last time, this time the cost is equally shared by Senior Delphine.

My hand moves toward my waist. Reaching for the handaxe I’d planned to draw, the moment my eyes meet Senior Delphine’s, I sense it.

I’m too late. Despite using the dagger to distract her, creating a spatial distortion and Ceria’s attack from the rear, I’m still too late.

This is the skill of a top student, even among the academy’s seniors. Talent that rivals professors, worthy of such honorary titles.

If I don’t draw my handaxe, there is only one answer left.

To use what I already have. The spinning dagger suddenly plunges vertically.

It seems Senior Delphine had forgotten about the dagger in the midst of successive attacks and retreats. She takes a step back, while I step forward. My hand is already searching the waistband. The sole method to not be late is one.

My mouth catches the falling dagger. With my last strength, I leap into Senior Delphine’s embrace.

This is the end.

The edge of the dagger presses against Senior Delphine’s neck. A slight push will pierce through. Our breathing mingles, and our scents are within striking distance.

Senior Delphine’s body stiffens. Dazed, her blood-red eyes reflect the gasping face of a man.

I win. Senior Delphine’s sword is too far to strike. And with a slight pressure from my jaws, her life is in peril.

I ask.

“Pa-hyeo-hun?” (What’s the judgment?)

My muffled voice creates a funny scene as I still have the dagger in my mouth. Despite this, I can’t help but wear a faint smile.

And a drop of sweat rolls down my forehead, finally falling from the tip of my jaw.

Senior Delphine remains silent for a time. Various emotions cross her eyes.

Distrust, humiliation, fury, denial, and finally, after a long moment, resignation.

A sweet sigh escapes her lips. Then a spewed-out word.

“…My defeat.”

She then lets go of her sword and drops it to the ground, a sign of submission. She lets out a mocking laugh.

“Who would’ve thought… My first defeat be to an unknown man… It’s unimaginable.”

And still, shaking her head, she says:

It’s always the same—proud and dignified.

“By the honor of the Yuridina family, I pledge to leave quietly. Bah, the championship…”

However, before she can finish, a silver flash pierces her shoulder.

My hand draws the handaxe.

And with a crack, the cartilage beneath is shattered. The axe edge embeds deep in her shoulder.

Blood and water spurt out. Senior Delphine’s face is one of complete disbelief. Her lips emit a shrill scream.

In sudden pain, Senior Delphine cradles her shoulder and collapses, looking at me with a mix of confusion and fear.

Finally, I spit out the dagger. With an unexpressive face, I say,

“Why are you ending it on your own? We’ve just begun.”

And, borrowing one of her usual phrases:

“They say… the survival of the fittest.”

A first-ever emotion surfaces in Senior Delphine’s bloodshot eyes.

Her trembling pupils clearly show one feeling.

Sheer fear.

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