Suddenly, the intruder’s blade turned red, and the aura around him became more ferocious. He was exerting so much pressure that it felt like the ground was shaking. But even in the face of that, Soreya didn’t so much as flinch.
Move! Move! Dammit! No! I need to help! I need to be there!
But a sudden smirk from the intruder in my direction gave me second thoughts. I froze, and a fleeting image of me running away from this impossibly strong opponent passed my mind. I remembered Soreya’s words about hesitation too late. Though I’d only wavered for a mere fraction of a second, that’d been enough to seal her fate.
I desperately began trying to crawl forward, my legs just beginning to regain their strength. I clutched my blade and slowly got up, but by the time I was finally able to take even a single step, the battle had been decided. I didn’t even have the time to blink before it was all over. The gruesome result was burned into my eyes.
Soreya barely had time to move before he instantly appeared in front of her, swinging his blade down to cut her in two. Possibly having anticipated this, she’d begun moving her body to the side, but she wasn’t quick enough to match his speed.
She might have successfully kept her life, but in the process, she lost an arm. The teeth from the blade rent her flesh right off her shoulder joint, dyeing both the intruder and the blade an even darker red.
Even so, Soreya didn’t even flinch or even make a sound. She’d made sure that his strike had only taken the arm that hadn’t been holding her blade. Taking this opportunity, she leaped forward to drive her blade into his neck.
If this had happened earlier before he’d begun to fight seriously, her blade, even in its shattered state, might have reached. But now, he was far too quick for a hopeful attack like that to land. He easily batted her away as if she were a fly, sending her crashing against the wall. The monastery fell deathly silent, which only accentuated the sound of Soreya’s shattered blade clattering against the ground and that of her ragged breathing.
“It’s a shame. Truly,” the intruder mused, leisurely rolling his shoulders. “It’s been a while since I’ve had such a persistent opponent.”
Soreya still hadn’t even so much as winced at the pain she’d endured. Her eyes were still full of fire. She hasn’t given up? But why? Can I help her? Can I do anything when she can’t?
“Despite claiming that you were the Blade Saint, you only put up a marginally better fight than the rest,” he sneered. “But, as slight of an improvement as you are to the other trash here, I figure I should honor you at least on my way to being recognized as the true Blade Saint. With that, I offer you this respect: any last words?” he asked, holding his blade to her neck.
“Heh... End of the line, huh?” Soreya grinned as if she was laughing at herself. “I might not be able to beat you, but your end will be at our blade.”
“‘Our,’ you say?” he asked curiously, scanning the area. “By ‘our,’ do you possibly mean your fellow students, who have been cowering in the corner like rats? Or that boy you attacked me together with, who’s since stood up and taken nothing but a single step?”
“If you look down on Ca’al, you’re gonna regret it,” she chuckled. “Ca’al!” she barked at me. “The rest is up to you. Heh. Don’t give me that look. You’re gonna do it. You accepted being my partner, right? Have more confidence. Hold your head high! You’re the person whom the Blade Saint has acknowledged as her partner, you know? You’re more powerful than you or anyone else thinks. I know you might not see it now, but you’re gonna go on to do so many amazing things. I just wish I’d be there to see it...”
“Soreya...what are you saying?” No, you can’t lose. Don’t give up. I’ll be right there. We’ll fight together. How can I beat him by myself when you couldn’t?
“Time’s up,” the intruder said, preparing to swing his blade.
“Always remember, Ca’al,” she started.
“N-No... Don’t... Please!” I wailed.
“This isn’t where we end.”
Her final grin was so bright; it felt like dawn had come. But just as quickly as I’d felt light, darkness came to take its place, heralded by the sickening sound of metal rending flesh.
I couldn’t even scream. My mind went blank as I simply stared at what’d happened.
Soreya. Our hope. The Blade Saint. My closest friend.
She had been killed.
I fell to my knees. My mind had ceased to function. The scene ruthlessly played on repeat. I kept seeing the blade rip through her in a single brutal stroke.
The only thing that brought me back to the reality that she was lying there in a pool of her own blood was the weight of the knife she’d gifted me in my pocket.
Tears began to well up in my eyes. I couldn’t do anything... I was supposed to be her partner, and I failed... I couldn’t do anything. I just watched her die.
The intruder sighed and stuck his blade into her torso and had his blade suck in the blood.
“Now, with this, I’ve proven I’m the true Blade Saint, and I always have been,” he smirked. “Which means, this monastery is useless now. All of you here are failures!” he bellowed. “What were you doing all this time? That girl was the best you could produce?” he cackled.
Shut up.
“I’m seriously disappointed. I trained so hard and got exiled from my own clan for searching for power. I sacrificed everything for this?!”
Shut up.
“You should be ashamed! But it’s okay. I’ll make sure you don’t have to live with this shame much longer. You’ll all join that talentless girl soon.”
“Shut up!” I yelled.
His attention turned to me right as I closed the distance and swung my sword at his head. He easily blocked it with his own sword, giving me an unimpressed look. I continued my flurry of attacks, not relenting.
“Shut up! Shut up! Shut up!!!” I screamed, swinging my blade down with everything I had, my vision blurred by hot tears.
“Fool.”
As my blade made contact with his, mine broke in two, but I didn’t care. I grabbed the longer shard with my bare hand and stabbed it into his hand. The sting of the blade cutting against my hand was negligible compared to the pain of losing Soreya.
“Oh? You want to play?” He grinned. “Here I thought that girl was the only one with some spine, but maybe I was wrong. Maybe there’s still a little fun left to be had.”
His blade turned red again, and he disappeared. As soon as he did, I heard something in my head. A voice was the closest description I could come up with, but it didn’t feel like it was saying words to me. It was as if the voice was directing my senses.
I wasn’t sure why, but I ducked. Then, in the next moment, I heard a swish of air as his blade swung horizontally over me. Then, I found myself shifting my weight onto one leg and pivoting to avoid his follow-up attack. At first, I thought these were flukes, but it kept happening. Even with his incredible speed, it was like I knew where he was going to attack before it struck.
My mind was more focused than it’d ever been before. I could hear the swift swipes of his sword as it cut through the air; I could hear the creaking of his muscles as he moved; I could sense the direction of his eyes. All of these contributed to my success at dodging his attacks. After getting used to it, I was starting to be able to land counterattacks as well. At first, they were just shallow cuts, but eventually, I was able to inflict deeper wounds until his body was painted red with all the blood.