Chapter 93

Chapter 93

A streak of light that sucked in the surrounding brightness.

Lérang couldn't even react.

By the time he realized Renia had drawn her sword, a streak of light had already brushed past his side.

Boom! Kwooom!

"Argh!!"

The scream did not come from Lérang's mouth.

It was Renia, the head of the Lester family, who let out the scream.

"Oh, what do I do! I caused another accident!"

Renia had brushed past him, heading towards his back.

Lérang was shocked beyond belief.

Because the wall behind him had split vertically.

'Is, is this the One Flash!'

Lérang tried to calm himself down, regulating his breathing.

It was more intense than the rumors had suggested.

'No, is this even considered swordsmanship!'

Lérang stared blankly at the remnants of the One Flash.

It was clear to even a child that Renia had deliberately missed.

Even a brush would cause one to disappear, let alone a direct hit.

'...A training ground patched up like a rag. So, this was why.'

Renia's 'One Flash' was too powerful, rendering even the magically fortified barriers useless.

It was an incredible skill. One he desperately wanted to learn.

Even if it meant risking everything he had.

"Kyaaah!! It's completely destroyed!? What, what should I do now?"

Renia panicked, a sight unbefitting of her noble reputation.

Witnessing this, Lérang couldn't help but think to himself.

'She's cute.'

Of course, he brushed away that thought with a burst of anger.

"Uh, umm. If Darling and the butler find out I've destroyed it again, they said they'll ban sparring... What should I do?"

Renia scratched her head, looking troubled.

Then, as if struck by a brilliant idea, she snapped her fingers.

"Right! If I say Luna did it, they might let it slide. Let's go with that."

Such an extraordinary line of thought, perhaps befitting a noble.

'Passing the blame seems second nature to her.'

Though he thought it might be different, it was typical of the nobility.

To them, it was natural to pin the blame on their inferiors.

'Well, I don't think she's a bad person. In noble households, it's normal for the lower-ranked to take on the menial tasks, right?'

Lérang was under a grave misconception.

He was unaware that Luna was just a toddler barely learning to walk.

In other words, Renia planned to overcome the situation through Luna's cuteness.

Unaware of such thoughts, Lérang could only harbor his misconception.

"Renia?"

"Hm? Ah, ah... don't worry. I can handle this much on my own."

As Renia said this, she gnawed on her nails.

...Though it didn't seem like it at all.

But as a poor man, he couldn't offer to pay for the damages.

Lérang bowed his head slightly, saying,

"I might not be of much help, but I'll assist with the repairs. It's partly my fault, after all."

"Would you, really? That would be so helpful. It means one less person will get scolded. Ahaha, what a relief."

She was pleased to have one more person's help.

'She's unexpectedly clumsy.'

Until a moment ago, she had seemed so impressive.

The Lester family was indeed a mysterious one.

The head feared reprimand, yet they had someone like Luna, capable of demolishing walls.

A family shrouded in mystery, indeed.

"And I would like to stay here for a while to train. If possible, could I get a small room?"

"Hmm... Go ahead. It seems you're on the verge of a significant breakthrough."

A significant breakthrough, just as Renia said.

At that moment, something inside him was undergoing a tremendous change.

Lérang clenched his fists.

'Improving the family's swordsmanship? Unnecessary.'

If he could only master a powerful secret technique like the One Flash.

The Fleur family could rise above being a third-rate household.

It was then, perhaps, his thinking began to shift.

* * *

A month had passed.

Lérang began to sob. He didn't know why.

Tears just flowed.

"...Please."

Don't drive me away.

Please explain what I did wrong.

Show me the way I must go.

It was when Lérang was sobbing.

"I'll tell you that. You foolish human!"

Suddenly, a demon appeared before Lérang, thrusting a contract at him.

Lérang found himself holding a sword in his right hand.

A demonic sword, swirling with dark magic.

The dark magic began to crawl up his right arm, pressuring Lérang.

"Argh!!"

It was then Lérang could wake from the long dream.

Chirp, chirp-.

Lérang, drenched in sweat, opened the window.

Dawn was breaking.

* * *

"Demons are classified into upper, middle, and lower tiers. But, is there anything higher than an upper demon?"

During Elester's class.

Several students quickly raised their hands, and Yuridia was chosen.

"There exist supreme demons, referred to as 'Legion Commanders.' It's common to refer to them as the Sixth Grade, but it doesn't matter if you call them bastards or whatever."

"That's correct. Well, it seems a bit of personal opinion is mixed in there... but not a bad nickname."

Ha, ha, ha!

Laughter filled the classroom.

Elester began to write something on the board.

Exactly, a writing instrument was flying around, drawing something.

'Magic... I want to use it too.'

Of course, he could use it later.

The number of hidden magic pieces is comparable to swordsmanship.

The issue? It would only be available after the final exams, during the summer break.

Until then, magic was as good as a pie in the sky for him.

'I could use it with Divine Imitation, but...'

Now that he had stored much better skills.

Wasting a slot of [Divine Imitation] for a personal whim was out of the question.

It was when he was smacking his lips in regret.

"You all know what this magic circle is, right?"

A pattern with a star inverted within a circle.

The symbol of an upper demon, the pentagram.

"Demons of the Fifth Grade and above, they have this inverted pentagram floating behind them. Not all, but what you need to remember isn't that."

Elester leaned on the lectern, the atmosphere growing heavy.

It meant a very, very important story was about to be told.

"Run. If you see this symbol, you must run away."

Upper demons are a different class of beings.

If there's an inverted pentagram, it's safe to assume it's an upper demon of at least the Fifth Grade.

Students couldn't stand a chance, so the advice was to run away at all costs.

"Remember this formula well."

The writing instrument danced again, then listed numbers on the board.

123456789 - Star

987654321 – Grade

"A 1-star knight and wizard can confront a demon of the Ninth Grade. A 2-star can face an Eighth Grade demon. Then what about a 9-star knight?"

"They can confront a First Grade demon."

"That's correct. Of course, since demons use various hellish magics, it's not absolute. Even if you encounter a manageable demon, never let your guard down."

A simple formula to judge a demon's strength.

Why make it so complicated instead of simply matching the star number to them?

'Because demons inherently represent 'inversion.''

Beings that act contrary to human actions. That's what demons are.

Perhaps that's why people in this world place significant meaning on 'inversion' as a symbol of opposition.

As a Korean striving for ultimate efficiency, it's hard to understand.

Isn't it? A 1-star knight for a First Grade demon, a 9-star knight for a Ninth Grade demon.

If changed like this, there'd be no need to memorize formulas, allowing for instant comparison of strength.

'Upper demons...'

The pentagram drawn on the board captured my gaze.

--TL Notes--

Hope you enjoyed this chapter. If you want to support me or give me feedback, you can do it at /MattReading