Selena Yohaiden (4)
Selena’s thrusting blade cut through the air, aiming for Zeke.
Even with the sword approaching his face, Zeke’s expression remained unchanged.
*Swoosh*
His body stood motionless.
Only his hand moved, suddenly placing a violet between Selena’s swinging blade and its target.
“What?!”
Selena, who thought Zeke would be seriously injured if she continued, was startled and momentarily loosened her grip.
However, due to inertia, the sword continued to swing towards Zeke.
*Clang!*
The flower and the sword collided violently.
However, there was not a single scratch on the thin stem of the violet.
Selena was astonished by the heavy recoil that traveled from the handle to her hand, almost making her drop her sword.
“H-How…!”
“Don’t lose your grip until the very end. You’ll get hurt.”
“But how……!!”
‘This is impossible!’
Her common sense was being completely denied.
She was so flustered that she couldn't even speak properly.
She froze, forgetting that she had to keep swinging her sword.
“Not coming? Then I will.”
As she hesitated, this time, Zeke charged.
The violet in his hand flashed with a faint purple light.
‘Beautiful…’
A flower approaching like a flash of light.
Selena felt like she was dreaming.
She even wondered if Zeke might be one of those rare mages.
However, the swordsmanship he displayed was strictly that of a swordsman.
Practical swordsmanship with no wasted movement.
Every single movement had meaning.
Not a single glance, not a single finger moved in vain.
Even she, who knew nothing about his swordsmanship, could tell how refined it was.
Compared to that, Selena’s swordsmanship was no better than child’s play.
*Clang!*
Every time he charged and swung the flower, the flower and the sword would clash violently, and the violet would invariably be aimed at Selena’s neck.
The feeling of the petals brushing against her neck sent a chill down her spine.
Goosebumps erupted all over her body.
Selena felt a chilling fear as if her neck could be cut by a single petal at any moment.
But Zeke said,
“Again.”
“Again.”
“Again!”
A firm command. Selena gritted her teeth and charged at him every time, but her sword couldn’t even graze his clothes.
*Clang!*
*Clang!*
*Clang!*
After repeating this several times, Selena was out of breath.
Her entire body was drenched in cold sweat.
Flawless,
Infinitely calculated,
Endlessly cruel swordsmanship.
Irresistible.
This was a wall. Yes, a gigantic, sheer cliff.
A sheer cliff that she would still be looking up at even after a lifetime of training.
Now even Selena had to admit it.
Zeke could reach her neck with the flower without even clashing swords with her.
He was just taking this form to teach her.
He was still acting as an instructor.
So she couldn’t just give up without a fight.
Selena clenched her jaw.
She forced strength into her trembling hand, put her weight on her toes, and kicked off the ground.
Zeke's face got closer.
From shoulder to elbow,
From fingertip to sword tip,
Strength surged,
And the sword swung vigorously.
“Haaaap!!”
*Clang!!!*
Once again, the flower and the sword clashed.
At that moment,
*Crack*
Selena’s sword broke.
“Ah…”
As if all her efforts for the past seven years had crumbled in an instant.
She looked at the sword, now only half remaining, with a dazed expression.
‘This is, this is truly unbelievable…’
Selena definitely thought she knew Zeke was incredible.
He was invited to be a swordsmanship instructor at Ramielli Academy at such a young age, after all.
She thought he would at least be one of the best swordsmen in the Empire.
There was a reason why the Princess of Yohaiden, who didn't have to bow to anyone except the imperial family, treated him so respectfully.
However, this transcended common sense. It was a realm that wouldn’t be strange to call supernatural.
She had thought she had gotten to know him to some extent after spending time with him.
It was a mistake.
She knew nothing about Zeke.
Selena looked at Zeke with trembling eyes.
Zeke, as if he thought that was enough, released the flower from his hand.
The violet fluttered in the night breeze and flew over the wall.
He spoke with his usual indifferent face.
“If I can fight a sword with a flower like this, why do you think you can’t do it with a rapier that’s much sturdier and sharper?”
“…”
“If you learn proper swordsmanship with a rapier, you can hold your own against a ferociously swung bastard sword.”
Still, Selena couldn't believe it. Not him, but herself.
Her voice trembled.
“That’s…. Maybe because you're the instructor. Can I, can I really do it like you…? I don't think this is something a human can do.”
“I’m human too. So you can do it too. If you learn properly.”
“…”
‘Instructor, no, Zeke Clayman… Just who in the world… are you?’
In the end, Selena could only nod her head.
* * *
After saying those words, Zeke left Selena in the yard and returned to his room alone, as if he was in a hurry.
The moonlight mercilessly illuminated the empty space.
The broken blade was still in her hand.
However,
What dominated her mind now was not the seven years of effort that had crumbled like a sandcastle, nor the broken sword, but
Zeke Clayman, the swordsmanship instructor of Ramielli Academy.
‘Just what kind of person is he…? I don’t know anything about him…’
Selena could only look up at the room where he was staying, muttering unanswered questions to herself.
* * *
*Thump-thump, thump-thump.*
Zeke, who had hurriedly returned to his room after leaving Selena outside, clutched his chest and trembled.
He saw his face reflected in the darkened window.
The corners of his mouth were grotesquely stretched into a wide grin, reaching his ears.
His black eyes sparkled with a bloodthirsty glint.
However, it was as if it were all just a fleeting illusion.
He soon returned to his expressionless face.
‘Damn it. I just used swordsmanship for a bit, and this is happening again… For about two seconds… Yeah, this is much better than when I was on Earth. Finally, I can benefit from this body.’
Usually, it was an inconvenient body that didn’t even have an expression and couldn’t even speak properly, but that stone-like face managed to control even his habits.
Zeke Clayman was, in fact,
already a broken man.
Usually, he had a bright and cheerful personality that didn’t show on the outside.
It was a strange contrast to someone who had been worn down by 10 years in a dark fantasy world.
It wasn’t that Zeke had forgotten his past.
It was just that he had gathered it all up and buried it deep inside.
The deep despair, dark and gloomy, sinking endlessly, reared its head whenever he held a sword.
Thus, the 10 years in the dark fantasy world, devoid of dreams and hope, had twisted his personality and turned him, an ordinary young man, into a bloodthirsty fiend called a ‘slaughterer’ by both enemies and allies alike.
In the Dave Continent, the deeper Zeke's despair grew,
the more he swung his sword with a bright smile on his face.
What else was there to enjoy in a ruined world?
Since he was slashing and slaying enemies every day,
the thrill of life-or-death combat was his only amusement.
The feeling of walking a tightrope between life and death, with death at his heels, was like a drug.
His enemies feared the moment he appeared, and
even his allies couldn’t get close to him, as he was always covered in the blood of his enemies, laughing grotesquely.
After saving the Dave Continent,
he returned to Earth and put in countless efforts to regain an ordinary life.
He thought that if he continued like this, he would eventually become a heinous serial killer on Earth, so
he finally put down the sword he had never let go of for 10 years.
As he didn't hold a sword, his bright personality seemed to return little by little, so
he had no choice but to cling to it even more.
Zeke was quite relieved that he wasn't as thirsty as he thought.
Fortunately, he could now control himself to some extent, at least with objects that weren't sharpened.
Of course, he had used swordsmanship, so he had become like this for a while.
‘Yeah… This much should be fine for overseeing training at the academy. I just need to not use swordsmanship and not hold a sword. I don’t have to hold a sword when I teach.’
Zeke swallowed, quenching the faint thirst that remained.
* * *
Please, make it quick…
If you’re going to finish it, do it quickly…
Just kill me…
Quickly…
Please!
The next morning, Zeke was bewildered by the servants who barged into his room from early dawn.
They swarmed him, washed him, oiled his hair, and even powdered his face.
After that, they were in the middle of dressing him up in dazzling clothes as if he were a doll.
He even had white gloves on his hands, which was uncomfortable.
He had been tormented like this for several hours already.
‘What the, what’s going on?!’
The loose white shirt had tons of frills and a fluttering neck decoration that looked like a bib.
And on top of that, the sky-blue suit he was wearing had gold threads dangling from it.
‘What is this… So incredibly stuffy and incredibly complicated! Is this really supposed to be cool? No matter how I think about it, if I go out like this, I’m just going to be a laughingstock.’
Zeke, who had no immunity to the clothing of the romance fantasy world, couldn’t understand the flamboyant attire.
At least the uniform he usually wore was a military uniform, so it had a neat and sturdy feel to it.
This one, on the other hand, made him look like the most famous clown in the capital.
“You look so handsome!”
“I know, right? We didn’t know because you never dressed up before, but with your hair styled like this, you really look dignified!”
“I’m getting a decadent vibe… *Gulp.*”
“Hey, hey, don’t even think about it. You’ll get in trouble.”
The maids whispered among themselves, praising him, but
Zeke in the mirror still had a puzzled look on his face.
‘I don’t think I can even take this off by myself.’
*Knock, knock*
Just then, the door to the dressing room opened with a knock from behind.
“…”
*Click*
*Click*
Selena, dressed in a lavender dress, opened the door and walked in slowly.
Or rather, she walked normally, but
to Zeke, it seemed as if she was moving in slow motion.
Everything but her became a blur.
Selena, with her sparkling silver hair, was dazzlingly beautiful and elegant, like a fairy from a storybook.
Actually, Selena often wore simple, non-flashy dresses.
But today was the entrance ceremony, so
she seemed to have put in extra effort.
‘Oh, she’s beautiful.’
“…Ins, Instructor!”
Selena stopped for a moment when she saw Zeke, then called out to him with an awkward smile.
He was worried about how to face Selena today after completely crushing and humiliating her with a flower yesterday.
It seemed that she was the one trying to be considerate of him first.
‘…I was a bit too much yesterday, wasn’t I? I know I had to break her spirit at least once, but… That was a bit harsh. It seemed like she had been training really hard all this time.’
Even now, he couldn’t help but feel sorry for her as she trembled and stuttered, trying to act as if nothing was wrong.
‘They say you shouldn’t hit a woman even with a flower. I hit her with a flower yesterday, but… She’s such a kind soul. She really is an angel, no, a goddess. Right, body? Let’s at least compliment her on her beauty today.’
“It suits you.”
His body, which normally wouldn’t be able to utter such embarrassing words, opened its mouth as if acknowledging Selena’s beauty.
“Eep! R-Really?! You look great too, Instructor!”
“…Is that so… This… This getup really looks good…?”
“Um, um? Is, is something wrong?”
“No, it’s nothing. It’s just my first time wearing clothes like this.”
“Ah, I see… You always wore your uniform, so it, it must be awkward for you. You’ll be wearing this often when you go to the academy. I mean, please wear it often!”
At those words, Zeke’s face hardened. Not that it showed, as his face was already hardened.
‘This? Often?’
* * *
Selena had to try hard to calm her pounding heart at the door of the dressing room.
‘Hoo, Selena Yohaiden. It’s okay. Yes, act natural. Natural.’
She hadn’t been able to sleep a wink after last night’s spar with Zeke.
She stayed up all night thinking about her doubts about the swordsmanship she had been practicing and the enigma that was ‘Zeke Clayman’.
But at the same time, she also felt hope.
She had been walking the path of the sword alone, without a teacher.
She had been wondering if she was on the right path, if she had developed any bad habits, or if it was already too late.
In the end, she had decided to attend the academy because she wanted to learn swordsmanship properly.
And she had met an overwhelming teacher. He was a swordsman of such a high level that she couldn’t even compare.
What kind of person he was, what kind of past he had… She wasn't curious anymore.
To be honest, maybe just a little?
Just a tiny bit?
Because he was going to be her teacher?
She was curious, but
more than that, she was excited to learn swordsmanship from him,
and the prospect of being able to wield such swordsmanship herself.
Of course, he had made it a condition that she had to use a rapier.
At first, she couldn’t accept it at all, but after witnessing his ‘Violet Swordsmanship,’ she had no such qualms anymore.
“Pfft.”
The irony of it all made her laugh.
The same person who had given her both despair and hope.
After witnessing such beautiful and overwhelming swordsmanship,
it was impossible to look at Zeke the same way she used to.
She had just gotten used to his cold and stiff face, but now that she knew he was far more extraordinary than she had thought,
he had become difficult to face again.
“Act natural. Natural.”
“Lady Selena, aren’t you coming in?”
“I-I’m coming in!”
Ailey, who was adjusting her dress next to her, asked.
*Knock, knock*
*Creak*
Selena’s breath caught in her throat.
‘Oh. I’m going crazy.’
And the world stopped.
Join our discord server for the latest release updates and novel discussions.
Thanks for the chapter
ReplyDelete