A pit grew in my stomach as the reality of the situation washed over me. No... No, this can’t be. This can’t be real. Soreya, she’s supposed to be...
But the more I looked at the sword and the situation I’d found myself in, the more this sobering and cruel reality washed over me. This... This is the relic, isn’t it? But if I’ve summoned it, that means... That really means that I’m...
I gulped and shook my head, not wanting to think any further. No. There’s no way. It was Soreya. It had to have been Soreya. There was no way that it could be me. I’m nothing without her, I’m—
Suddenly, I saw a flash of an image: Soreya and I were walking side by side, and I was so overjoyed. Finally, I’d become worthy of being here. But the more we walked, the slower her footsteps became, until she was no longer next to me.
“Soreya?” I looked behind me, looking for someone who couldn’t be here anymore.
Please...it can’t be me. This is a mistake, I— But then, I felt a hand on my shoulder. It was so warm. So nostalgic.
“Ca’al. Remember.” This voice. It was Soreya’s. “His end will be at our blade. No hesitation.”
“Soreya!”
“Now call its name—the relic’s true name. It’s time we end this. After all, if it’s a fight between a phony Blade Saint and the real Blade Saint, there’s no way you’ll lose, right? Because...”
I felt tears in my eyes. “I’m...the Blade Saint.”
In the next moment, as if responding to my will, the ruby in the blade began to glow, urging me to call its name. As I held it in my hand, memories started flooding into me, and among them were two words.
“Flash Blade.”
In response, my surroundings returned to me. It’s time to end this. I raised my blade and charged through the frozen space.
In the next moment, the intruder’s eyes widened as he jumped backward, right before my blade could cut through his wrist. El gasped with pain as his blade left her body, and she began clutching the wound, collapsing to the ground.
“You... How did you...” At first, he seemed confused as to how I could’ve suddenly appeared here, but then his eyes were drawn to my hand. “That blade!”
“The relic...” El gasped through labored breaths.
“It was you? This entire time it was you?” Then he began laughing maniacally, clutching his stomach. “No wonder this impulse in my head hasn’t subsided! All this time I thought I killed the imposter that monastery was trying to masquerade as the Blade Saint, but of course... Of course it didn’t subside, not when the true imposter was hiding like a dirty little rat! What was it that you called me back then? A coward? But look at you! Despite having this strength, you let your friends die in front of you! Who’s the real coward?”
Don’t let him get in your head. Calm down. He isn’t an opponent I can afford to lose my concentration against.
“I guess letting one girl defend and die in front of you is where you draw the line. What was her name again? So... So something, right? Can’t remember for the life of me. But you can’t blame me, can you? It’s impossible to remember the names of every weakling I’ve killed.”
I could feel my blood boiling, but I wasn’t going to allow myself to lose my cool. Focus. This isn’t just a revenge match.
I shot a glance at El, the person who’d stuck her neck out to defend me after I’d pathetically collapsed in the face of this monster. She’d had no reason to. If anything, during our fight, it’d felt as if she’d been trying to kill me. But even so, she’d saved my life. My fight now was not only to get revenge for Soreya and everyone, but it was also to make sure that no more harm would come to El.
It’s okay. I won’t lose. I beat you once. I can do it again.
“The last time we fought, you caught me off guard, but not this time,” he growled before swiftly swinging his blade at both me and El. “Don’t think you’ll win just because you can summon the relic. Not only am I a greater species than you, but I’m also the true Blade Saint. The relic belongs to me! You’re merely a pebble along the road, a trial made for me to overcome to prove I’m the true Blade Saint! Ah, damn. This ringing in my head won’t stop! But it’ll go away after I kill you, won’t it? After I swipe you aside like the piece of trash you are, nothing will stand in my way.”
Here he comes. But before his blade could even reach us, I froze time with the Flash Blade and swiftly moved us beyond his range.
“Stay here. I’ll protect you,” I said to El as time resumed. “Don’t worry. I’ll finish this quick so we can get you to Doctor Paunsasoy.”
She looked up at me with confusion, but I didn’t try to analyze it too deeply. After all, the important thing here wasn’t what was on her mind but the opponent in front of us. I readied my blade and took a stance.
“Oh?” he chuckled, amused. “Freezing time’s a nice little party trick, but don’t think that’ll save you from me. I’m much more powerful than I was the last time we fought. Besides”—he flashed a devious grin while glancing at El—“there are ways to deal with time manipulation.”
Immediately, he disappeared, but his blade, as if it was calling out to me, told me exactly where he’d be. Right as he moved, I activated the Flash Blade, froze time, and used the maximum amount of time of three seconds to reposition myself to deflect his blade to the side. He’d struck in a way that if I’d tried dodging, El would be hurt, so I had no choice but to use my sword against his.
I knew what he was planning. He wanted to chip away my stamina by forcing me to take his heavy blows, but I wasn’t going to play along.
Just as I went to activate the blade, he jumped back, escaping my range. Does he know? It’d take me three seconds to get him in my range, and then I’d have to wait another three seconds until I could stop time again. I won’t pursue him this time. I need to stay by El and guard her.
Judging by the big grin on his face as time resumed, he knew exactly what he was doing. He disappeared again and reappeared before me, resuming the flurry of attacks on me. And sure enough, when three seconds elapsed, he jumped back out of my range.
He carefully observed me, waiting for me to activate my time freeze, but the pressure was on him to attack me, not the other way around. The instant he returned inside my range, I could freeze time and get the upper hand.