Chapter 204. Conversation (3)
“Oh, what the hell are you doing······.”
The flagship of the Allied Forces 1st Fleet.
Leaning against the instrument panel in the command room, Jill sobbed uncontrollably.
Things were unfolding strangely.
They had detected the movement of a colossal magical energy and immediately deployed to set up a barrier.
However, for some reason, one of their archmages was standing calmly beside the colossal magical energy.
And Rex, who had deployed to rescue her, was continuing to charge forward like a madman despite his severe injuries.
Rex’s gaze was fixed on an empty space.
No······.
It was an empty space that gave off a sense of foreignness.
“What do you see······?”
The opponent was invisible to the eye and could not be detected by either magic or mana.
An unidentified ‘will’ kept gushing out of the void and attacking Rex.
However, Rex was dodging and parrying as if he could see it.
What could he be seeing?
If he could see it, how was he seeing it?
He was dying to know what Rex was seeing.
That was why Rex could not die.
He had to come back and tell them what he had seen and what he had fought.
If he died there, everything would be meaningless.
“Don’t worry. Rex is never weak.”
“Priestess······.”
Mia chanted in a calm voice.
There was not a trace of worry or concern on her face.
Despite the fact that the archmage had been taken hostage and a high-ranking warrior of Elvengarde was on the verge of death, she did not seem unusually nervous.
“Rex is not the same as he used to be.”
Rex was once a man who had been driven mad by revenge, sharpening his sword and risking his life in training.
After tormenting his body, he had quickly become a master of the Merida-style swordsmanship.
He had become the strongest force in Elvengarde, both in name and in reality.
However, all that strength was an illusion.
Rex’s power was not his own; it was for the sake of revenge.
He could only train for revenge, use it for revenge, and it would all fade away once his revenge was over.
In fact, Rex had collapsed after losing his target for revenge.
The strength he had built up had nowhere to go.
The 800 years of life he had consumed had simply evaporated.
But after the battle that day.
Rex had definitely changed.
On the surface, Rex seemed to have lost his purpose and will in life and become dispirited, but that was not the case.
He had quietly and silently begun to walk the path of moderation once more.
Instead of taking the shortcut of tormenting his body and burning his life away, he had begun to walk the right path.
It seemed slow, but it was not.
Rex had realized that the longest way around was the fastest way.
Around that time.
Rex’s eyes had been filled with a strong determination.
It was not a determination directed at something else.
It was directed inward, at his own self.
For myself.
That was the only purpose.
It was a single determination that was stronger than anything else and would never be broken until the day he died.
.
.
.
‘Something is interfering with my perception.’
I had known for a long time.
The strange foreignness.
And the unpleasant feeling of being toyed with by someone.
Someone is standing in front of me now.
He had been holding a sword made of magic until just now.
Now he had put down his sword and was fighting as if to prove that he was not a great demon.
‘Even my memories are being altered······.’
Even the attacks he had launched had been erased from my memory.
The process of being attacked had disappeared.
All that remained before my eyes were the wounds from the attacks.
It was as if someone was deliberately trying to conceal the opponent before my eyes.
‘I see now. That guy is trying to talk to me.’
I could feel a ‘will’ in the midst of the fierce attacks.
It was not an attack that was simply meant to harm the opponent.
If it had been, that guy could have killed me dozens of times over.
So the will in that guy’s swordsmanship was not killing intent, but something else.
I didn’t know exactly what it was yet.
But that was something I had to find out from now on.
‘I wonder if my will will reach that guy?’
I couldn’t feel it or remember it, but his will had been conveyed.
How was this possible, even with his weapon down?It is clear that I have reached a level that I could never have imagined.
Can I, like that person, put my whole will into an attack and unleash it?
Well.
Whether it is possible or not, I will just do my best and clash with him!
“Merida-style secret technique······!”
A realm that I glimpsed briefly after burning 800 years of my life.
A realm that is unknown whether I can reach even if I train my entire life.
At the very least, I need to use the secret technique to be able to fight that person on equal terms.
What is the Merida-style swordsmanship that has been passed down through generations of elves?
It is the swordsmanship of the ancestors who founded Elvengard, filled with the desire to protect this land.
However, such a beautiful purpose and performance are separate.
Although it has undergone many improvements over time, due to the closed nature of the elf society, it has not been able to make as many improvements as the swordsmanship of other races.
That is why, even after a long time, what has been passed down is a swordsmanship that is not much different from the original, with a strong offensive nature.
Considering that all the swordsmanship of the other races recently emphasize both offense and defense, it is a swordsmanship that is behind the times.
‘But that doesn’t matter!’
What is a secret technique?
The ultimate direction of swordsmanship.
It is the ultimate technique of swordsmanship, which is not hindered by any constraints or limitations.
The superiority or inferiority of swordsmanship does not matter in a secret technique.
The reason and purpose for practicing swordsmanship.
If you delve into that extreme, then in theory, anyone can acquire it.
Of course, that is just a theoretical story.
It is no different from the nonsense that if you empty your mind enough and meditate repeatedly, you can enter nirvana and ascend to heaven.
Is it possible to focus only on the ‘will’ contained in swordsmanship?
Until now, I have been taught only the technical aspects of how to swing a sword and how to block it, so what is this sudden talk of grasping clouds?
Everyone will think so.
I thought so too.
‘Swordsmanship is······ just a means to share your intentions.’
But now, at this moment.
I finally realize.
Swordsmanship is not important in itself, but merely a means.
Swordsmanship may be different, but the will contained in it is the same.
Even if the form is different, all secret techniques have no choice but to share the same principles.
That’s why I think I know.
In order to confirm the true nature of that person, I must be able to use the secret technique.
It is the minimum requirement!
The minimum requirement is a secret technique!
Only those who exist in the world, less than ten in number, can dare to recognize that person.
“······!”
Kugugugugu.
Inyoung is nowhere to be seen.
However, part of the swordplay that the opponent is wielding begins to enter my field of vision.
And then I immediately had an intuition.
Whether I hit it or dodge it, I will lose this memory again.
I can’t let that happen.
I can’t just let the will of that person, because of my immaturity, just scatter into the void.
I will definitely confront it!
“······?!”
At that moment, a huge net unfolds before my eyes······.
No. No.
It is the spirit of the sword that transcends the limits of the sword and flies through space.
“Oh my god. Is that really a swordplay?!”
As I stared at the net that was approaching me, I could understand the will contained in it.
The unwavering will to hit the attack regardless of the distance or the length of the sword.
From Noble mtl dot com
It is the ultimate in fencing.
Then it is my turn.
It is my turn to show my will to that person.
Once again, I ask myself.
What is my secret technique?
‘What is the great meaning of the Merida style?’
It is to protect Elvengard.
It is to protect the country and its people.
I attack to protect.
I know that the best defense is to attack.
However, it is a contradictory and foolish swordsmanship that has not yet realized the unity of offense and defense.
“Landgrid!”
That is why the form of the secret technique that appears is a shield.
To protect the person behind me.
A shield to break through the front, and to break through the front again.
A pure white, wing-like shield unfolds from the tip of the sword in an instant.
The net of sword energy that is attacking me is blocked by the shield and can no longer advance.
By attacking, I achieve defense.
This is the great meaning of the Merida style, which transcends its limits and breaks the contradiction.
It is a secret technique.
“Did I block it?!”
The moment I thought I had blocked it.
The pure white will that formed the shield began to crack and crack, one by one.
“I didn’t have enough!”I couldn’t block the attack that was spread out wide instead of being focused on one point.
Was my will lacking?
In an instant, the pure white shield shattered into pieces, and as the sword energy covered my forehead, I felt death.
I have no regrets.
I did my best, but it was not enough.
I have realized the secret of the Merida style that I would not have been able to achieve even if I had trained my entire life, so now I can die in peace…
“What are you thinking about with such a relieved expression, as if you’ve just taken a month-old dump?”
“What…?”
I thought.
My eyes opened involuntarily at the voice that seemed to be mocking me.
I should have been dead, my head pierced by the sword energy.
But when I opened my eyes, the scene that unfolded before me was a dense forest.
A scene that resembled the old Elvengard.
What is going on?!
As I got up, I felt a presence behind me.
The moment I turned around in a hurry, I was met with an unexpected face.
“Don’t be so surprised.”
“Eugene?!”
Eugene.
The unfortunate human who I thought was dead was sitting on a tree branch, smiling shamelessly.