The once-green meadow quickly turned into a chaotic battlefield, and a barrier was raised, preventing anyone from approaching within a radius of several hundred meters.
It wasn’t created by magic or sorcery but purely by the swing of a sword, causing a supernatural phenomenon. Lucia wielded her sword with more power than ever before.
Her opponent was the Lucia of the future. Fully intact limbs and sharp, focused eyes meant this was no ordinary adversary. Why she was attacking with a sword so abruptly was unknown, but it didn’t feel like a situation that could be solved through conversation.
‘She really intends to kill me.’
Clang! As she narrowly deflected the oncoming deadly strike, sparks flew wildly.
“Hey!”
Lucia shouted as she parried the sword attacks.
“Hey! Do you know who I am?! Huh?!”
She dodged the torrent of sword strikes and twisted to shatter the barrage of magical spears. She blocked Sirius’s descending strike with her own Sirius and closed the gap. She aimed to drive a fist filled with internal energy into her opponent’s face.
Boom!The fist landed not on her opponent’s face but on the ground.
‘What?’
Whirl—her entire field of vision spun. Lucia’s feet lifted off the ground, and the world flipped. She had fallen prey to a martial technique of such speed she couldn’t perceive it.
At the edge of her vision, the future “Lucia” was watching with disdain, attempting to head toward Shiron.
No way. Wham! Lucia kicked through the air with legs full of internal energy. The space rippled like waves, and even though her feet didn’t touch the ground, Lucia’s body propelled forward.
Bang!
The other Lucia’s eyes widened. She quickly raised her sword to block, but Lucia’s fist was faster.
Thud, bam, bang! Dozens, even hundreds of punches smashed into her raised guard. She had no time to lift Sirius. It was too close to swing any weapon. It was a true close-quarters combat situation. The future Lucia ultimately discarded her sword, as her past self would have.
Fist met fist. Internal energy-infused punches ripped through the air, producing bone-crushing, pulverizing sounds.
But neither’s bones broke nor fists fractured. With legs firmly planted like deep-rooted trees, they absorbed the tremendous impacts, their upper bodies as immovable as mountains.
It was a battle almost too fast to follow with the eyes. Was this truly achievable with a human body? Despite the exchange of blows, neither bore a single injury, as their clashes tore the air and distorted the surrounding space itself.
“…Wow.”
Mesmerized, Yoru watched the battle with blank eyes.
It was a phenomenal contest. Has she ever witnessed such an intense battle in her life? Though she’d only lived a little over twenty years, Yoru found the fight unfolding before her to be worthy of the title “historic.” ȑАΝỘBЕS̩
It wasn’t just speed; every move was precise, with no wasted motion. Not only did they pour their all into each blow, but they anticipated the second and third moves, maintaining a flexibility that allowed them to reset at any time.
Someone tapped Yoru on the shoulder as she watched the unbelievable match.
“What are you gawking at?”
“…Huh?”
Was it an invitation to join the fight? As she thought that, Shiron grabbed her hand and ran in the opposite direction.
“Wha-what? Aren’t we going to fight together?”
“What’s the point of fighting together? People should handle their own issues.”
“???”
Leaving the still-confused Yoru behind, Shiron looked up at a nearby building.
[Arwen Plateau Station]
The name was familiar, but the building’s form had drastically changed. The brightly colored stained glass was shattered, and the once-straight tracks were now twisted and warped.
“This place is a ruin. What are you trying to do here?”
Seira, who had followed them belatedly, frowned. Though it was a train station, it no longer served that function.
Vending machines, souvenir shops, ticket counters, restrooms, ticket gates… none seemed capable of fulfilling their intended roles.
However, even in a ruin, there’s always one corner that remains intact.
“Found it.”
Slicing through the attacking monsters one by one, Shiron arrived at the storage area. Inside were numerous lockers, one of which was securely locked with a padlock.
“A padlock?”
“Don’t just break it. It’s reinforced with a powerful defensive spell, so if you mess up, the contents inside might be destroyed.”
“Then don’t we need the code? I mean, what could be so valuable that it needs a padlock in this ruin…”
“Seira, what was your birthday again?”
“April 16… Wait, could this have been left here by my future self?”
Shiron shook his head at Seira’s question.
“You created the lock and made what’s inside. But it was future Lucia who stored it here.”
“Wait! Isn’t this stealing?”
Click! The combination was correct, and the lock opened without issue. Inside the locker were several sheets of black paper, half of which Shiron casually took.
“What’s this?”
“Teleportation scrolls. I’d take them all if I could, but better leave some, just in case.”
“I-I made something this amazing?”
‘I am a grand mage, after all. Nothing surprising about that.’ Seira, feeling quite proud, looked back in the direction of the rumbling sounds.
“The one fighting Lucia right now… the future? The adult? Lucia looks really angry, don’t you think it’s provoking her more?”
“She tried to kill us from the first encounter, so a bit more resentment won’t hurt.”
“…Come to think of it, true.”
“Seira, take Yoru and head to Rien Academy first. I’ll follow with the scroll.”
“Got it.”
Seira activated the teleportation spell, taking Yoru with her.
All three arrived safely at the academy, except for Lucia.
“There aren’t any monsters here?”
“Major facilities like the academy are protected by a barrier. But there are plenty of monsters outside, so stay cautious. Safe places are really few.”
“…Even the empire wasn’t spared.”
Yoru wiped her sword, stained with dark red blood, with a wistful expression. The empire, which hadn’t flinched even under severe terrorist attacks, falling helplessly to mere monsters was disheartening. Considering that Silleya was also pushed to the brink by these creatures, it wasn’t entirely surprising.
“But why come to the academy? Isn’t it odd to assume that the Prient residence, even in chaos, wouldn’t be in a mess?”
“It’s probably fine. I’d guess it’s safer than the academy.”
“Then…”
Just as she was about to say something, a thought popped into Seira’s mind.
‘Lucia killed him.’
In the future, Shiron had been killed by Lucia. It was hard to believe at first, but after witnessing the aggression of future Lucia, she no longer doubted it.
Whatever events had transpired in the future, or perhaps in an alternate timeline, it was clear that future Lucia harbored a deep hatred for Shiron.
“There was nowhere else to go but the academy.”
“Exactly. This Shiron Prient over here has done enough to earn plenty of resentment.”
Shiron let out a deep sigh, shaking his head in annoyance.
“I can’t imagine it. Siriel likes you so much.”
“This Siriel doesn’t hate me enough to kill me, though she does treat me like garbage.”
“…I can’t imagine that either.”
“But not everyone hated me. I had a businesslike, smooth relationship with Emperor Victor, and Yuma always treated me as someone special. Dawn Castle was probably a safe place, too.”
-So, he must have been certain that this place was safe as well.
At that moment, a voice echoed in the air. Seira and Yoru immediately gathered their energy, but Shiron calmly turned in the direction of the voice.
A woman cloaked in a robe was approaching.
Her voice was muffled, and with her face in shadow despite the blazing sun, it was hard to identify her. But Shiron knew who she was.
“I came to see who used teleportation, and of course, it’s you.”
“…You.”
Seira’s eyes widened in surprise. As she approached, her voice became clear. Or perhaps she simply felt there was no need to hide it.
The woman pulled back her hood. Ash-gray silver hair cascaded down, and pointed ears were revealed.
“Grand Mage, Seira Romer.”
Her alluring lips curved into a teasing smile.
“I’m the only one with the skill to use teleportation.”
“You’re… me?”
With trembling fingers, Seira pointed at her future self. Her finger pointed directly at the eyepatch covering the center of her face.
“You… that eyepatch, what’s it for?”
“Oh, surprised?”
Future Seira playfully tapped her eyepatch as if it were nothing special.
“Seeing you surprised, I guess this world’s me still has both eyes. That’s… good to know.”
“How… what happened? Did something happen to your eye?”
“Sorry, but I was blinded during a fight.”
“When? Because of who?”
“I get that you’re shocked, but can I ask you one question first?”
Blind Seira smiled warmly and looked at Shiron. It seemed not seeing was no hindrance as she naturally found him, even though he hadn’t made a sound.
“In your world, have you killed many of the Apostles?”
“Yes, only two remain.”
“Good job.”
Future Seira said this and opened her arms toward Shiron.
Shiron understood what she meant. In this world, Shiron Prient and Seira Romer were…
Hug—
Shiron approached and embraced Seira.
“You truly are my disciple.”
The embrace grew steadily stronger. Then, she released him from the hug and gently traced his face with her hands.
Tenderly, one careful movement at a time, her actions appeared pitiful. Watching, Seira’s mouth dropped open in surprise.
“I was trying to see your face… but you still look good.”
“Don’t cry.”
Shiron carefully wiped the tears slipping out from beneath her eyepatch.
“I’m sorry.”
The tears behind her eyepatch wouldn’t stop flowing.
“For being such a lousy teacher, I’m truly… sorry.”
After saying those words, future Seira gripped the back of Shiron’s head, stood on her tiptoes…
“…”
and pressed her lips to his.
Visit and read more novel to help us update chapter quickly. Thank you so much!
Use arrow keys (or A / D) to PREV/NEXT chapter