Four humans, an orc and a cat, gathered on a piece of land where there were few trees, rocks, and clouds.

That alone was a strange sight, but their actions were even more bizarre.

Tododod!

Captain! Captain! I got the corpses! Praise me!

You did great. You are a hundred, no a thousand times better than that stupid Georg.

A girl was casually collecting corpses, and a beautiful woman was praising her actions, and a man was looking at it as if it was a daily thing.

Whoop!

Whoop!

Whoop!

A young blonde with no regard for those three was wielding his sword to stretch his body.

The other two didnt say anything.

The Orc with tattoos on his arms, and a flying cat, were unique in their own way.

One of the unique ones, Kuvar, an Orc Spiritualist. Said.

There has to be

His voice was weak, and he had an expression full of concern.

He saw the energy of Irene, which was released in front of the corrupt Charlotte and Victor.

The air became so cold that it was incomparable to the one shown in Alhad.

If she is the commander of the Black Knights of the Holy Kingdom, she must have killed a lot of demons. If she put her mind to it, she could actually look like a demon in front of us.

Would Irene be able to withstand such a person?

He wasnt sure.

To him, Lulu said.

Kuvar, believe in him.

Irene is a thoughtful and frustrated child, but he isnt the type who cant keep his words. He said those words because hes confident.

right. Youre right.

Kuvar nodded and looked at Irene.

His eyes were filled with trust in the man.

But something happened, which the two didnt expect.

Can I do this?

Irene Pareira, wasnt too sure of himself.

Actually, it was normal to think that. If there was another way, Irene would not have gone on the continental trip in the first place.

Then, why did he ask for a duel with Ignet Crescentia?

It was out of anger.

Its strange. Why was I so angry?

At first, he thought it was because of Ilya Lindsay.

He remembered what she said.

The story she told after the final evaluation.

The person that Ilya was aiming to catch up with, a goal Ilya had to overcome at all costs.

That existence was in front of his eyes, and as if that wasnt enough, she was asking for him to become a member of her knights.

The moment he ended up getting lost in the situation, he thought that he would never be able to see Ilya if he let this woman dominate him.

But that wasnt it.

The more he warmed up for the match, the more he swung the sword, the more his heart realized that that wasnt true.

He realized that that wasnt the reason, and it was only after a few minutes that he realized he was angry with Ignet.

Why?

Irene pondered.

He wasnt the kind to get angry.

Even if he heard harsh words, even when people laughed at him, he never acted out.

It was the same in Krono when he was training silently despite the ridicule which came for him in the beginning.

There was only one time that Irene was angry at someone.

It was towards Viscount Gairn.

However, this was different from that.

That incident happened because hatred accumulated for more than 10 years, and he felt bad for his father and blamed himself for not looking after his parents, that couldnt be compared to now.

In the end, five minutes passed and Irene couldnt properly comprehend his feelings.

However, he had a different realization that came from somewhere else.

He realized that anger was the only way to control the mans will.

Whoop!

Irene Pareiras fire grew strong.

Nothing was visible. It was a fire inside his heart.

However, everyone gathered on the plains noticed it.

Kuvar, Lulu, Anya, Georg and even Ignet looked at the blonde man.

Irene didnt care.

He lowered his sword and closed his eyes.

And began the imagery training that he learned at Vulcanuss forge.

Woong!

Five, no six years ago. A small spark came to life when he was pursuing Ilya Lindsay who was running ahead of him.

And it grew with the advice Kuvar gave once they reached Derinku.

Even in front of Charlotte and Victor, who were clearly ahead of him, he was able to hold his ground.

But that wasnt enough.

Irene had been lacking for a long time.

The will of the man in his dreams was steel and it went beyond the iron lump.

A much hotter fire was needed to trim down that iron stake in his heart, which had been formed by the man.

And now, an unparalleled fire blazed in Irenes heart.

Crackle!

Embers.

Fire.

At long last, the flames in his heart were large and hot enough to be called a fire.

Irene brought it to the iron stake.

And he concentrated and tried to pound it.

Kang!

Kang!

Kang!

Still not enough.

The iron stake was so big and hard that it seemed like it wouldnt be possible to create a sword with a brief attempt.

But Irene didnt give up.

Irene continued to pound on the heated iron stake.

Then, little by little, change occurred.

Kang!

Kang!

Kang!

Instead of hammering the whole thing, he focused on one place, the tip.

Not getting tired, he kept hitting it.

As a result of constantly hitting it, its form changed.

It took the shape of a sword that couldnt be grasped, and its handle, though crude, could be held and wielded.

Phew.

Irene took a deep breath and exhaled.

Sweat poured down from his forehead, cheek, and his chin.

He couldnt feel it.

He was in the middle of lifting a huge iron stake with both hands.

Kuuuu!

He felt an amazing power.

Irene always thought he knew the extent of the mans power, but no, he didnt.

The feeling right now was like he was lifting a mountain made of steel.

Of course, its still difficult to handle, but

Irene swung the iron stake in his heart a couple times.

It wasnt easy. It was so heavy that his body would lean in the direction the iron stake moved.

But it was fine.

Irene Pareira finally opened his eyes.

As if waiting for a long time, with her sword on her shoulder, Ignet stood still.

Looks like youre ready.

yes.

Irene nodded his head.

It was enough. A completely different confidence than before awakened in his body.

He stared at Ignet with a hot gaze that wanted to burn anything.

And she said,

I wont back down because youre a junior. Act as you please, until our swords collide three times.

Yes.

The duel starts the moment I radiate energy. Do you understand?

Yes.

Then

Ignet lowered her sword.

That was too much leeway in front of an Expert Level swordsman, but no one pointed it out.

Because she is one of the Sword Masters, who are fewer than 100 on the continent.

However, Irene, who faced her, didnt look timid.

He was like a steel giant with flames all over its body.

Energy rose from Ignets body as she looked at him.

Puahhh!

Fear, darkness, void.

As if a real demon appeared, terrifying energy spread out.

The power of the commander of the Holy Kingdoms Black Knights.

Irenes eyes twitched.

It was because the energy of the man in his dreams was coming out.

The iron stake in his heart, no, the greatsword in reality swung here and there.

Kuk!

Irene clenched his hands.

The scorching flames and strong winds as he grabbed the handle.

A grip strong enough to crush even a rock into powder, and then the tremors subsided little by little, and stopped completely.

He won. He finally overcame it.

It was when he smiled with joy because he achieved the result he wanted.

Ignet, who took a stance, began to run at a terrifying speed.

Tat!

She swung her sword, reaching for her opponents nose with one huge leap.

Irene was shocked at the diagonal cut that flew from the bottom to the top.

Kwang!

Kuak!

Even though it was a fight where one had a one-handed sword, and the other had a two-handed sword, Irene was pushed back. Irene, who had taken five steps back, was about to say something.

But there was no room for talking.

Ignet came back again, and Irene responded by clenching his teeth.

Kang!

Kwang!

Kwang!

In an instant, three clashes.

Each time Irene stepped back, he lost his balance.

Not only did his hands and feet hurt, but he also would feel dizzy, and he couldnt get focused right away after each hit.

In the midst of that, he couldnt block the fist that came for him.

Puck!

Kuak

A punch powerful enough to make one's feet leave the ground.

Irene Pareira, who was on his knees, couldnt stand the pain and passed out.

The fight was over.

Woong!

A breeze blew across the wide plain.

It was a quiet sound.

The first to speak was Georg, who had been with Ignet since his mercenary days.

Are you going to take him?

Are you saying that Im a liar? Irene proved his words.

I know. But havent you already lied?

What do you mean?

Didnt you say only three sword strikes?

It was a lesson for the junior. How can one get through the harsh world with a simple and innocent heart that truly believes what others say?

there are other reasons. But this one wasnt trying to prove himself.

Then

He was trying to beat me. Sincerely.

Huh?

Even Georg was shocked.

Trying to sincerely defeat the 3rd ranked swordsman in the Holy Kingdom, whos been a Sword Master for 7 years already.

The word crazy wasnt enough to describe that.

Hes completely crazy.

Right. Crazy.

Ignet looked at the fallen Irene.

The Orc and talking cat were there concerned and worried about him.

And she who saw it said,

Even then, I want to have that guy by my side.

Uhm

Irene Pareira opened his eyes with a groan.

He had a different dream than normal. A dream of Ignet.

The woman in his dreams was beating him without listening to his words.

He was hit despite blocking, and even when he ran or stood still, the hits kept coming.

He was so tense that he came to his senses.

He sighed as he looked around.

Kuvar was dozing in a chair to his left, and Lulu was snoring on his lap.

They must have brought me here when I fainted. Did we come back to Derinku?

With that, he turned his head to the right to find Ignet Crescentia sitting there.

Irene gasped.

Eik!

The Orc and the cat woke up late and looked at him.

After looking at him for a long time, she said.

Still, I like this guy quite a lot.