Encrid stared at the tip of the sword that Asia held out.
It was the same as before.
Asia's body blurred, leaving only the blade visible, and then only the tip of the sword remained, blocking his vision. The sense of distance disappeared. Asia was no longer visible.
Soon, the tip of the sword began to tremble.
Is this how it starts?
Why?
'Because I provoked her with my words?'
It felt as if she was telling him to prove it.
Steady breathing, a wall to overcome without killing, the ferryman's words, the trembling tip of the sword.
The trembling dot began to split, appearing as multiple points.
He imagined deflecting each one of them.
Each version of himself deflecting the dots was different.
He became Rem, then Ragna, then Jaxon.
As he faced off against the sword tip, he felt the distinct characteristics of those he imitated. Of course, it was part of the learning process.
Rem's approach was to play along.
Jaxon was the type to clear the field before it was even set, fighting only on his terms.
Ragna, on the other hand, would cover the opponent's Will with his own.
Encrid followed each method in turn.
He had repeated this over and over, more than three hundred times 'today'.
They all seemed different, yet they were the same.
Why could Rem and Ragna do what they did?
'It's intuition.'
It was possible because they had keen, precise senses.
Whether that took the form of heightened physical senses like Jaxon or was something only triggered when holding a sword, like Ragna, the conclusion was the same.
Encrid had honed that precise intuition. In the end, it all came full circle.
"This bastard, huh?"
Asia spoke, her voice echoing in his ears. The dot vanished from Encrid's eyes, and everything seemed to blur and disappear. It was only natural.
Encrid had closed his eyes.
Darkness enveloped him. Soon, he sensed everything through sound, touch, and his sixth sense as he swung his sword.
Diagonally, at an angle, pivoting on his left foot, transferring the force of his rotating waist into the strike. The blade moved as if it were cutting through the air.
"You think that'll work?"
Asia shouted as she withdrew her sword and took a defensive stance. It was a simple diagonal slash, but it couldn't be blocked by merely targeting the sword's tip. Targeting the sword's tip meant nothing to those who didn't see it.
In an instant, the speed of Encrid's blade surged as if it were stretching forward.
Bang!
To deflect the strike, you had to catch the exact point of impact, but the change in speed made that difficult.
Though Encrid introduced such a change, Asia twisted her wrist at the last moment and flicked the sword away.
If she couldn't block something like this, the title of Junior-Knight and the name of the Red Cape Knights would have been undeserved.
Encrid pulled the deflected sword back with force and slashed downward.
Whung!
Asia retreated.
As Encrid opened his eyes, Asia once again pointed her sword toward him and assumed her stance.
"Is it that you don't want to admit you've been beaten?"
Still in his downward-slash stance, Encrid asked.
"Try again."
Asia replied.
There was no need to close his eyes this time. Encrid intentionally let his focus blur. By leaving only a vague image, concentration would wane. Targeting the Sword's Tip was a technique that preyed on the opponent's concentration.
In other words, this was enough.
The lack of visual clarity could be compensated with other senses.
Bang!
From his downward-slash stance, Encrid twisted his wrist and struck upward. His sword shot up like a lightning bolt. Asia couldn't ignore it and had to block. She held her sword horizontally and absorbed the force by jumping backward to avoid Encrid's immense strength.
The blades met and parted. A loud bang echoed, and sparks flew between them.
Even though she deflected it, the impact sent shockwaves through her body. Asia knew well that she couldn't win against him in a contest of strength.
Encrid's half-blurred eyes regained their focus.
"Once more?"
He asked again.
"...What are you?"
Asia couldn't understand what was happening.
The first time, she could dismiss it as luck, but twice?
The truth was, she already knew after the first time.
Encrid had broken the Targeting the Sword's Tip technique.
But how was this possible?
During their sparring, he struggled even to face her, let alone find a solution.
His technique was far from perfect, and he had little experience fighting against techniques like hers.
But this?
It felt as if he had trained separately, targeting only his sword, hundreds of times.
The attacks felt as though they were perfectly aligned, which left a crack in Asia's composure.
'My mind is wavering.'
The moment she realized this, Asia regained control. She steadied her breathing.
When the mind wavers, you lose momentum. That's why Asia dismissed it. No, she expanded her understanding to encompass the situation.
"Alright. So this is the ridiculous talent that Luagarne was talking about?"
"I got lucky."
A common excuse. It sounded like a provocation. One corner of Asia's mouth lifted.
"You hear a lot that your words are annoying, don't you?"
"Sometimes?"
"Yeah, you're really annoying."
"Thanks for the compliment."
Words wouldn't work against Encrid. It wasn't common to find someone in the Knights who could be as sharp-tongued as him.
Asia let her sword speak for her instead of her tongue.
After all, Targeting the Sword's Tip wasn't the only technique she had.
'Even if a technique is broken, mastery doesn't come all at once.'
That's a universal truth. But before ten exchanges had passed, Asia's assumptions began to crack.
Encrid's technique showed a level of completion that hadn't been there before.
His previously imprecise swordsmanship had become refined.
For example, the gap between deflecting and immediately countering had shortened. In the past, he would over-twist his wrist, giving his opponent a chance to react, but now that wasn't the case.
Everything was more measured—from the angle of his wrist to the amount of force he used to deflect and push away. There was a noticeable precision.
'This is absurd.'
It was the kind of talent that made you shake your head in disbelief.
At this rate, he was showing more potential than even those considered seniors within the Junior-Knights.
Asia had to dodge as her thrust was deflected, watching as Encrid's sword twisted like a snake.
His reactions had become faster, and his sense of timing had improved.
Breaking the Targeting the Sword's Tip technique wasn't the only thing he had done.
'How?'
Had he been training relentlessly for months under a skilled teacher?
Though surprised repeatedly, Asia once again steadied her mind.
"What is will?"
It is the heart, the belief, and the determination.
How could someone who has lost their will win in reality?
Using her master's teachings, Asia steadied herself once more. This applied even to Encrid's current situation.
He had steadied his mind by declaring that he didn't want to kill Asia.
Asia managed to do the same in real-time.
Indeed, the mindset of a Junior-Knight was something different.
"Hah!"
With a shout, she shook off her distractions. She rotated on her right foot, thrusting her sword with the strength of her pivot into her right hand.
This was the third technique of Will, following Intimidation and the Phantom Sword.
A high-speed thrust.
It was similar to Encrid's 'Will of Moment' technique.
It was one of the basic techniques of the Knights.
Speed is always the key.
Bang!
Encrid blocked the thrust with the flat of his Gladius.
He had used 'Will of Moment' in the same way.
'Even this.'
In their previous sparring matches, even when he used Will, he had done so in a segmented manner.
The breaks between each use of will were clear. When he used 'Will of Moment', there was a clear setup beforehand. It was obvious.
But now, it wasn't.
"You blocked that?"
"If you think it was just luck, try again."
Both of them were smiling now. As Encrid spoke, he swung his sword downward, and Asia pretended to block horizontally, only to dodge it at the last moment.
As his sword lost its way and slashed down, she launched another high-speed thrust.
Encrid twisted his body. The tip of the sword narrowly grazed his cheek.
The surface of his skin split open, and a droplet of blood flew out.
They clashed and swung their swords at each other, battling fiercely. Although Encrid had overcome Asia's Targeting the Sword's Tip technique, he had failed to completely overpower her.
To be precise, it ended in a stalemate.
If either of them had truly intended to kill the other, one of them might have died, but neither had that intention.
So it ended with both of them tired and wounded.
Encrid's left upper arm had been stabbed, rendering it unable to move, and Asia had a deep slash on her calf, limiting her mobility.
After they stepped back a few paces and paused their swords for a moment, Asia asked,
"What are you, really?"
She asked again, unable to hide her bewilderment.
"No, seriously, why are you smiling?"
From her perspective, she could see Encrid with a broad grin on his face.
It was utterly baffling to her.
There are limits to enjoying a fight. Being able to smile even in a situation like this meant something was seriously wrong with his head.
By now, the sun was setting. The sunlight streaming through the window was fading, and twilight was beginning to fall.
Asia frowned. Even then, Encrid was still smiling.
'Has he gone mad from fighting?'
It seemed entirely possible.
Looking at her, Encrid finally spoke.
"I'm so excited I could die."
"What?"
What was he talking about?
Encrid's eyes gleamed with the light of the disappearing sun. There was a glow in his eyes, made of pure passion and fervor.
Then he finished speaking.
"I'm so thrilled to know there's still a path to climb that I feel like I'm going crazy."
He meant it. It was pure, untainted joy.
Encrid had honed his Sense of Evasion, his sense of attack, and now added precision to his senses.
Even though the techniques he had learned so far had each advanced a step, he still couldn't fully defeat Asia.
And that was why.
Because there was still room to grow, still more to train, still a higher path to climb—and now, he could see it and almost touch it.
That's what made him so happy.
"You crazy bastard."
Asia sincerely acknowledged his nature.
It was something he'd heard often.
* * *
"That is not a wall."
The ferryman appeared in his dreams. Lately, he seemed even more relaxed than before.
Encrid couldn't respond. It was a dream, after all. A fleeting fragment, almost like an echo.
But it was a vivid fragment that stayed in his memory.
He felt as though, no matter what, he had to follow the ferryman's words.
"Kill her."
Someone commanded him, and it seemed like he had to obey.
Encrid casually ignored everything.
"What a damn fine morning."
Before the sun had even risen, Encrid muttered to himself and stepped outside.
Rem, half-asleep, blinked groggily and glanced at his retreating figure, tilting his head in confusion.
"Why are you acting crazy this early in the morning?"
The air had been tense with unease since last night, so what could possibly be so good?
That's what Rem meant by his words, but Encrid didn't care.
He continued training his body with the Isolation Technique. His thoughts naturally organized themselves and came to a conclusion.
Thoughts about the wall.
The wall is a condition.
If the condition is to kill the twisted stabber.
Sometimes, simply surviving was the condition.
There were times when just blocking a Knight's sword once was the condition.
Was there only ever one path through all of these days?
No, there wasn't.
And this time would be no different.
No matter what the ferryman said, Encrid did things his way.
Which meant doing whatever he wanted.
A little later, when Esther transformed back into her human form and said she was heading out, Encrid saw her and said,
"Bring back a melon."
Melon was a rare fruit from the southern lands, difficult to find on this continent.
"Your condition's getting worse by the day."
Esther replied indifferently and went on her way, concluding it was impossible to understand this man.
"Why are you so excited? Do you feel like you're about to fly or something?"
Rem had known him long enough. He could tell that his Commander was in an unusually good mood.
Jaxon noticed it too and gave him a curious look. Dunbachel seemed to be lost in thought, her eyes losing focus repeatedly, and Ragna had never really cared about such matters.
It made sense for him to be excited. Naturally.
He had been carrying a heavy weight in his heart, but now it was gone.
It's like taking off a sandbag you've been carrying—suddenly, your body feels lighter.
On top of that, he could see a path forward, and walking down that path brought him great joy.
"Oh, just thinking about knocking someone out makes my heart race."
Encrid said.
Rem, of course, didn't understand him, but he didn't question it either.
Soon after, when the sheriff appeared and Encrid knocked him out cold, Rem couldn't help but ask,
"Was this the guy you were planning to knock out?"
Did he know the sheriff was coming?
That was the meaning behind Rem's question.
Encrid laughed.
"No."
The one he intended to knock out was the female Knight with the orange hair.