“How dare you!”
Baekunryong, which was tied around Hayun’s waist, was drawn out. The white sword didn’t lose its light even in the darkness covering the Forest of the Demon Realm.
But the beauty of the sword didn’t match its power.
Chik.
The legendary sword Baekunryong, known even across the continent, was hardly held back by a mere pinky finger. Hayun’s eyes shook with panic, and it seemed the Priestess of Time caught onto that, smirking slyly.
“You can’t use the sword at all, can you? I think I’ve unintentionally taken a lot from you.”
Giggity giggity.
As the Priestess of Time slowly lifted the hand holding Baekunryong, a wave of pressure hit like she was going to swallow everything in greed.
“Is it okay if I take this sword too?”
“……!”
Her body stiffened, but instinctively, her hand moved. She dropped her left hand and pulled out the sword hanging from her right waist to swing it at the Priestess of Time.
Since the Priestess had only one hand, she stepped back and licked her lips.
“I lost my old weapon, you see. I need a decent weapon to deal with creatures that are off the charts.”
“Shut up! This sword is my mother’s keepsake!”
“Oh dear?”
The Priestess covered her mouth with her hand. Despite her attempt to hide it, a chilling smile peeked out between her thin fingers.
“That’s really unfortunate.”
While saying that, she knew that this woman was eyeing her sword with a hungry look, like a snake.
Her hand gripping the sword trembled with the impulse to leap forward and behead her right then and there.
“Calm down. This isn’t an opponent you can win against recklessly.”
Hearing the deep voice of the Grand Witch, Hayun finally snapped back to her senses and nodded slightly.
Remembering Daniel’s countless words about how being reckless with the sword was foolish while giving the enemy an opportunity.
The being in front of her was a monster.
Just swinging the sword briefly was enough to tell. Probably, she would rank at the top compared to the beings in this Forest of the Demon Realm.
In contrast, she was just a female student attending an academy. Even if she had a talent for the sword, she was still a bud that hadn’t blossomed.
So, Hayun slowly began to think of her strengths.
“People are always swayed, shaken, and lost. It can’t be helped. But you can stay calm in any situation. Even if shaken violently, you’ll eventually find your place, and that’s a tremendous talent for a swordsman.”
It was naturally important to identify the enemy’s weaknesses and fight to beat someone at such a massive disadvantage. It was necessary to target the enemy’s blind spots and strike unexpectedly.
However, more importantly, it was to gain confidence in oneself.
Let’s think positively.
She began to remind herself one by one of the strengths that Daniel McLean had recognized in her.
“Gather your thoughts. As I said last time, if you don’t get swept up in emotions, you’ll at least be the strongest swordsman among the students at the academy.”
The words he had said while tilting his head in front of the campfire.
“No, am I already the strongest swordsman?”
For Hayun, it had become a weapon even stronger than the sword she held.
“Grand Witch, is there a way to defeat that woman?”
“Impossible.”
Despite Hayun’s determination, the Grand Witch stated firmly.
“It’s impossible to kill her, but it might be possible to deal enough pain to drop her to the ground.”
At the following reply, Hayun nodded and stepped forward.
“I’ll take the front lines. Please count on me.”
“I never thought I’d be entrusting my life to a little lady.”
Normally, the Grand Witch would have run away without looking back. She had no reason to involve herself in this fight.
However, realizing that the Priestess’s attention had shifted from Baekunryong to herself, the Grand Witch grasped she couldn’t escape.
Because in her clouded eyes where thoughts were unreadable, there was only chaos. Even the slightest indication of retreat would lead to the Priestess’s hand piercing her heart.
Moreover…
“……”
She saw the future.
The miracle of prophecy that existed with the witches of the Black Forest activated the moment she laid eyes on that priestess.
She witnessed the massacre that occurred in their village, the witches gruesomely slaughtered, and the Priestess smiling over it.
To prevent such a future, the Grand Witch began to prepare her magic with cold sweat for the first time in a long while.
Hayun slowly stepped forward, grasping two swords and readying her stance.
“Daughter of Herbert Len and Yoonran Len, Hayun.”
Hiss.
She inhaled deeply.
The once heavy air of the Forest of the Demon Realm now felt as if it was invigorating her entire body.
“I’ll reclaim the name of the Len family that was cast away today.”
The Priestess, with her finger on her lips, gazed at the girl. A girl so pitiful, cute, and tragically beautiful that she looked like she could break with just a touch.
“Shouldering the name of the Len family, I will strike down the one who annihilated my clan.”
Hayun’s sword, icy and calm, shone bright as it charged towards the Priestess. A strike meant to slice through the heavy air of the Forest of the Demon Realm.
Aligning the trajectory of the swords, she swung them as if they were a single great sword to increase their power.
Thud thud thud!
But it was ‘bone.’
It looked too grotesque to have come from a human and was enormous, suggesting it must have been a spine from one of the magical beasts living in the Forest of the Demon Realm.
The bone ‘sword’ burst forth from the ground into the Priestess’s hand, and she casually blocked Hayun’s attack with a light defensive motion from her raised left hand.
Despite Hayun swinging down with both hands with all her might, her attack was stopped by a mere makeshift sword made of bone. Not only did the Priestess not budge an inch; she seemed unfazed.
Yet Hayun was already retreating a step back, not showing any major signs of agitation.
Now what was important was buying some time.
She didn’t know what kind of magic the Grand Witch had, but it was the only thing that could deal even a single blow to that Priestess.
“Huuh.”
Hayun took a deep breath, calmly preparing to charge again.
“You’re quite calm. You don’t look like an 18-year-old student at all.”
“……”
How did she know I was 18?
Hayun pondered for a moment, realizing there was no way to identify her.
It didn’t seem plausible that she heard about herself through Heaven Len. If he were the uncle she knew, he would have avoided mentioning Hayun as much as possible.
“What’s your relationship with Daniel McLean like now?”
“Why are you suddenly asking that?”
“Oh dear, it seems that man doesn’t share those kinds of details. Are you doubting him a bit? You don’t seem to grasp your own feelings just by recalling memories.”
“……”
What on earth is she talking about? So, Hayun swung her sword again, trying to escape the confusion.
Clang! Clang!
This time, she swiftly slashed from multiple directions, putting pressure on the Priestess. Since the Priestess had only one hand, Hayun thought if she pressed like this, there would definitely be a gap opened somewhere.
“You’re still deceiving your own heart. Daniel McLean is a truly disgusting man. He can’t even recognize the feelings of a girl who openly shows her heart like you.”
“Shut up.”
“Do you know how selfish he is? He’s hiding from the end that engulfs the continent, purely for his own greed. Your deaths wouldn’t matter to him at all.”
“Shut up!”
With just one hand and a bone-made makeshift sword, the Priestess easily deflected all of Hayun’s attacks. Her relaxed smile and flowing words shook even Hayun’s calmness.
“If he loves the elf Eris, that’s all there is to it? His feelings matter more than yours, right? Because you want him to be happier?”
“Shut up!”
Pwahah!
“Ha ha! You’re hilarious! You’re just running away! You think you’re lacking compared to other girls. So you’re forcing yourself to hide your feelings and running away.”
“……”
“You probably don’t realize how ugly that heart is. Shall I guess why you want to connect Daniel with the elf named Eris?”
Bang!
The swords met.
The Priestess of Time precisely blocked Hayun’s crossed swing at the center simultaneously and began to spew out her poison.
“Daniel McLean wants to connect with a beauty he knows he can never defeat. He needed an excuse to tell himself that he couldn’t be with someone great because no matter how hard he tries, he wouldn’t reach her.”
“No!”
“May Plov is too superficial, don’t you think? She’s delinquent and frivolous. Rin is a wonderful beauty, but it’s generally impossible to love someone while entangled with the end.”
Hayun wanted to shut her up.
She wanted to silence her so she couldn’t say anything more, but she didn’t have the strength for that.
“Sen? A bloodied assassin without emotions? Ridiculous. Adriana has already left for the forest. It’s over for her. Elise, despite being a princess, has severely fallen and is shallow.”
Now it was beyond a mystery how she knew all these facts. It was turning to confusion, and Hayun felt dizzy.
“Ivy’s timid. Besides her bad figure, I can’t think of anything better about her than you.”
“……”
“No one can be said to be overwhelmingly superior to you. Therefore, if someone connects with Daniel McLean, you’ll surely be left alone, crying in regret.”
Despite being just one word, it resonated like a ripple of a small droplet touching the edge of a vast lake.
Her voice echoed deep into Hayun’s heart.
“Oh, I could have had a chance.”
“Shut uuuup!”
“Oh dear?”
Seeing the sword that Hayun raised high, the Priestess of Time again wore a sly smile and whispered softly.
“Your movements have gotten bigger.”
Crack!
From her right chest to her left waist.
A bone sword precisely traced a line across. It wasn’t just sharp; the unevenly protruding edges sent a wave of pain through Hayun, making her feel like she would lose her mind.
But that wasn’t the end. The Priestess added a kick on top, sending Hayun flying, rolling across the ground.
If she hadn’t crashed into a tree, she probably would have been flung so far that she wouldn’t have been able to follow with her eyes.
As evidence, the tree Hayun crashed into collapsed as if chopped down, and she fell there, spitting blood.
