#51 – Beyond Aspiration
“Hey.”
After dealing with the reinforcements, Yukito stopped upon reaching Iria and the others.
“…Gileus.”
Two men were lying on the ground at his feet. Though, they appeared to still be breathing.
“Why are you here?”
“Uh, that’s…”
Gileus tried to open his mouth.
But the high-pitched rings of swords interrupted them.
With an explosion of dust and mist, a girl was thrown to the ground, and slid. But she quickly got back to her feet and held up her sword.
Iria Orlando.
Yukito was about to step forward…but then he stopped.
Her eyes said everything.
…Please, just stay there and watch.
(Ms. Iria…)
Gileus patted Yukito on the shoulder.
While he didn’t know the exact situation…he could understand.
The fighting spirit and sharpness of her eyes.
If Yukito intervened, everything would be finished quickly.
But that was not what she wanted.
And so he closed his eyes and moved his hand off of his sword.
(Win, Ms. Iria.)
◆ ◇ ◆
(Teacher…)
Iria sighed with relief when she saw that Yukito understood.
Indeed, it probably seemed foolish.
…This is a battle. Killing.
Still, she could not compromise.
(Teacher…he left me here and fought on his own.)
Why? Obviously, it was because she was weak.
They were nowhere close to his level, and did not have the right to follow him.
They knew it.
But…they could still not be satisfied with that.
(I was scared.)
Scared that he would go away. Too far for her to reach.
His strength would eventually take him to a place where none of them could go.
She would hate that.
But what could be done then?
The answer was clear.
She had to become stronger, so she could at least stand behind him.
(If I can’t get through this, then it won’t be possible for me.)
It was one against one now.
Instructor Daniel was watching for snipers.
“Apparently, we have no chance of winning now.”
Her opponent sighed with resignation.
“…How about we negotiate?”
“Negotiate?”
“It seems like you wish to fight me. But even if I win, I have only taken one life. That is meaningless. A joke. And so…”
“Fine.”
Iria interrupted him. She would not allow herself to hesitate.
“I will make sure that you can escape if you win. You can even take me hostage.”
“Hmm…”
The man smiled.
And then, without a sound, or any sign of movement, he appeared next to Iria as if he had teleported.
It wasn’t pure speed.
An illusion. One of the most difficult of the magic arts.
For instance, there were still no established arts for healing another person’s body. It was said that the church had secret holy arts of that nature, but no one was sure.
This was because magic arts could not be used to directly affect another person’s body. This phenomenon was called the discontinuation wall, and without an overwhelming difference in magic energy, you were unlikely to be able to overcome it.
However, just like a heat haze, there were ways to trick people in the same way that natural phenomena could make people see things.
He had been weaving this illusion since they started talking.
It was his trump card.
However…
“What!?”
The blade that should have reached Iria was blocked by a knight’s sword.
Her eyes were not looking ahead, but at the man who swung at her.
However, it was little wonder.
Iria had trained longer with Yukito than anyone.
His sword was ever-changing. You had to be at a level where you could sense his presence with your eyes closed, or you would not be able to keep up with him during training.
“Gah…!”
His sword bounced off, and the man lost his balance while activating a magic art towards the front.
The thing that suddenly appeared was an invisible wind shield. And yet it was as strong as iron. A military magic art.
Iria sensed it immediately and held her sword up.
(Teacher…)
He had said it. That her sword was that of her older brother.
In other words, a knight’s sword that was born to protect the people.
She had aspired to be like him. And wanted to prove she was right.
At the same time, there was now another aspiration.
And so…
It didn’t need power.
Like a leaf falling on water.
Just…cut.
“…”
The swing came down without any noise or motion blue.
And the wind shield, which boasted such tremendous strength, was quietly severed in half.
“Ah…?”
And like that, the man’s chest was cut open, and the air was filled with blood rain.
Iria flung the blood from her blade and sheathed it.
(Not yet…)
She sighed.
She was still far from there.
Cutting form, falling leaf.
She was not good enough to call it that yet. She had a long way to go.
However, even so, this was the first step, and the result of her aspiration and effort.