There was a time when Luna asked me,
“Mars, you’re an Aura Lord and so is the Count. If the two of you fought, who would win?”
“Who would win? Obviously, I would!”
I blurted it out without thinking, since there were no ears to hear or eyes to see me. But honestly, it’s not even a matter of winning or losing.
It’s only natural that I would get completely crushed.
Think about it…how could someone who barely brushed the threshold of being a Lord, just because he happened to stumble upon a single moment of enlightenment, possibly defeat someone who has surpassed human limits through sheer, relentless effort and experience?
Sure, the opponents I’ve faced so far were either careless or just plain weak, so maybe my strength seemed more impressive by comparison. But compared to my master, it was nothing more than child’s play.
Besides, my master had a habit of being even more ruthless with talented students. Having picked me as his successor, he really put me through the wringer.
Thanks to that, I was able to stand here now, but being scared is still being scared.
When I first entered the academy, I was gleeful thinking I wouldn’t have to see that damn master’s face anymore. Feels like it was just yesterday.
In fact, when I had to visit Count Helios’ territory recently, my hands and feet were trembling the entire time.
Given the situation, I just got the job done and ran off without even looking back. Maybe that offended him somehow.
As I blankly stared at my master standing behind me, I pinched my cheek in an attempt to wake up from this nightmare.
“Are you into self-harm or something? You like that kind of thing?”
“Uuhhh… Wh-What are you doing here?!”
Apparently I wasn’t the only one shocked. The women who’d been watching the duel with me, as well as the surrounding audience, all began murmuring like fans spotting a celebrity. They’d only ever heard of an Aura Lord, and now one had actually shown up.
“You rotten brat. Is it really that surprising I showed up?”
“Of course it is! You’re such a shut-in hermit that you don’t even leave the house unless it’s absolutely necessary, and now here you are at the academy of all places…. if that’s not shocking, then what is—aaaah!!”
“You’ve grown a real filthy mouth while I wasn’t looking, haven’t you?”
My master, who had enough strength to lift me off the ground just by grabbing my face, gripped my head like it might crack open and started examining my body from every angle.
“You haven’t been keeping up with your training while I was gone, have you? Tsk… Just look at this belly flab. If you wanted to be served on a platter, you should’ve said so. Then I wouldn’t have had to buy pigs from Charles’s farm.”
“Argh! Please stop poking me with your sword sheath!”
As he jabbed at my stomach from different directions and even lifted my shirt, his comments filled me with embarrassment, and I squirmed and struggled to resist.
It’s not like I actually had belly fat like he said, but since he could assess someone’s physical condition perfectly through Aura, he must’ve noticed that my body had dulled a bit compared to the last time he saw me.
“Oh my…”
“……♡”
The girls who had been watching this ridiculous scene from the side blushed when my abs were revealed under the lifted shirt, but I didn’t have the luxury to care about their stares at the moment.
Barely escaping from his grip, I straightened my disheveled hair and shouted at him:
“Wait! What is going on here?! A public sparring match with my master. How does that make any sense?!”
“A student… talking back?”
Frowning at my protest, my master gave me a look that said, “Follow me, now.”
Is he a thug or what…
Thinking I could just sit tight and refuse, I sank into my seat as if it were made of lead. But then, Luna spoke up to greet him.
“Hello, Count. It’s been a while.”
“Oh, Luna. You’ve become quite the young lady already. Hahaha!!”
“Thank you. Actually, there’s something I’ve been curious about for a while now…”
She glanced over at me briefly, then continued questioning my master.
“A while back, I asked Mars which of you two was stronger, and he said, of course, he would win.”
“Oh…?”
“Wait—Luna! That was so long ago, why would you bring that up—!”
“He said he’d obviously beat me…”
Up until now, my master’s eyes had been playful and teasing, but now… they had the unmistakable gleam of a predator eyeing its prey.
“Guhk!”
In an instant, he grabbed me by the back of the neck and pressed down on my pressure point, rendering me unable to move, and dragged me off to the sparring arena.
I later found out that Luna had said that on purpose because she was annoyed that I’d been hanging out with the other girls instead of her, and she wanted me to get a taste of my own medicine.
I will never forget the face Luna made as I was being dragged away. She was sticking out her tongue with a smug little bleh.
***
– Waaaaaah!!
Amid thunderous cheers echoing from all around, I pouted and grumbled nonstop about the ridiculous situation I was now in.
“You seem awfully displeased about sparring with your master after such a long time.”
“Of course I am. You’re not going to hold back at all. I’m about to get beaten to a pulp in front of everyone all day long.”
“Hmph. Do you really think your master is that shameless and cruel of a man?”
“Yes.”
“…….”
For a moment, I could see in my master’s eyes a flicker of genuine intent to beat me senseless. But he quickly composed himself again.
“Well, it’s true that part of the reason I came was to straighten you out… but that’s not the only reason I’m here.”
“Then… what is it?”
“The Heavenly Church.”
“!!”
I hadn’t expected those words to come from my master’s mouth, so I immediately straightened my posture, abandoning the slouch I’d had until now.
“Why them…?”
“I’ve heard some things. They’re the ones stirring up all this chaos lately, after all.”
My master glanced toward the audience seats for a moment, then released a layer of aura to block any sound from leaking out.
“What are you…?”
“I know who they really are.”
“!!!”
A shocking statement I hadn’t expected.
But more than surprise, what I felt rising inside me now was anger. Anger that my master had known all along and yet hadn’t done anything.
“Then why—!”
“I can’t act. There are… constraints.”
“Constraints…?”
For someone like my master, who had reached the level of a Lord, curses and spells were no more than irritating flies. They were insignificant and easily brushed aside for him.
So what kind of constraint could possibly restrict someone like him?
“Unless he gets involved personally, I can’t interfere. It’s simply not possible. So… it falls to you.”
“Master, what exactly… do you know…?”
“Want to find out?”
A small nod.
“Then try defeating me.”
With that subtle motion, my master taunted me.
The anger that had been burning moments ago vanished, replaced by a new fire….and competitive spirit.
“Fine. Just don’t cry when you lose to me.”
“Heh. That long tongue of yours makes you no different from a frog.”
Beeep!!
Thwack!!
“!!”
At the sound of the starting whistle, I spotted something glinting in the air and quickly raised my sword to block the incoming burst of light.
Clang!
“Grrk!”
“Oh? You’re actually reacting now. Back in the day, you’d just get smacked the moment the match started and go flying.”
Sword-Kinesis
In martial arts terms, it’s akin to a technique like “sword control with will”.
This insane ability where one manipulates their aura externally to make the sword appear to move on its own was something only my master could pull off.
He wasn’t even holding the sword directly, yet its power far exceeded that of ordinary swordsmen. More than once, I nearly paid the price for underestimating it as just some flashy “flying sword” trick.
Clang! Clang!
Whoosh!
What made this technique truly terrifying was that the sword moved beyond the range of typical human motion, making its direction extremely difficult to predict.
Caught off guard by the precision of the flying sword’s attacks, I could do nothing but stay on the defensive.
– Ah! Mars Noctus! It seems even among Aura Lords, not all are equal! Count Helios’s strange swordsmanship has Mars completely on the back foot!
Shut your damn mouth!
I silently cursed the commentator for being a distraction and decided to obscure his vision first.
[Helios-style Martial Art]
[Ground Tremor]
Boom!
As I stomped down with aura gathered in my foot, the ground exploded, temporarily blocking my master’s line of sight.
Taking advantage of that moment, I threw my sword like a spear toward him, then dashed forward along its flight path.
“Hm?”
As my sword flew toward his face, my master showed not the slightest sign of panic and deflected it with a flying sword.
Just as I thought—!
I expected him to knock the sword away, so I caught it in mid-air and prepared to strike from above.
[Noctus-style First Form]
[Seeking the Way]
Claaang—!!
Creeeeeeeeeeeeck!!
When the blades of two Lords clashed, the dueling arena turned into utter chaos. On a scale far beyond any of the previous matches.
“Not bad. But… that’s all it is.”
Even if it was just the first form, my master effortlessly blocked the downward strike.
Some might think he was starting to put in some effort now, but I know the truth.
He was only using about 10% of his full strength.
“My student… Surely this isn’t all you’ve got?”
Behind him, masses of aura began to form.
Two, three… the number of aura orbs steadily increased until there were nine in total.
Whoosh—
At the same time, their shapes shifted and they transformed into pure swords made of aura.
Now ten swords in total, they all pointed their blades at me in unison.
“With this level… you won’t be able to save anything.”
– Show me. Your true strength…
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