"There's really no other way out, is there?!" the Kingslayer clenched his jaw and said again, biting out the words.
He looked into Kal's eyes, his own filled with a desperate plea. "I want to trade my life in exchange for Cersei's."
But all he received in return was Kal's cold, unwavering stare.
"Lannister—your blood is no more noble than anyone else's."
"You murdered Eddard Stark's child—the heir of Winterfell—simply because he uncovered the incestuous affair between you and your sister."
"He was only seven—"
"And now you beg , a lowborn bastard, to spare your child and your lover?"
"Tell —don't you think that's ridiculous?!"
"Jai, no one is obliged to pay the price for your sins and madness!"
At Kal's words, Jai fell silent.
He understood them—and accepted them.
He knew now, too, that there was no more room for negotiation.
So, almost instinctively, he let out a faint, bitter laugh.
There was only contempt in that laugh—directed at himself.
Then, slowly, he turned his head, looking toward the woman he loved, who had collapsed to the ground against the stone wall—who, just like him, now understood that Kal would not show them rcy.
Faced with Kal's accusations, Jai had no response.
In fact, just as Kal had said—he too felt ashad of the man he had beco.
Suddenly, Jai let out a faint sigh. Then, in a tone filled with complex emotion—yet touched by a hint of resolve—he slowly said, "I understand now—"
As he spoke, the man long known as the Kingslayer turned to face Kal.
"Ser Kal Stone… You are a true knight. It's been an honor to et you."
"It's just a pity… that we couldn't have been friends."
While saying this, Jai once again gripped his gilded longsword and slowly rose to his feet.
His gaze was steady as he looked at Kal, and the struggle that had once lingered in his expression had completely vanished.
He even began to smile, his eyes carrying a trace of wistful longing.
"I once dread of becoming soone like you—"
"But that boy… when did he die?"
"Was it the day I donned the white cloak?"
"Or the mont I slit Aerys' throat?"
"That boy… the one who grew up wanting to be Arthur Dayne… sohow, along the way, life veered off course—and I beca the Smiling Knight instead."
The Kingslayer smiled faintly as he judged himself, gazing at Kal with calm clarity.
Listening to these heartfelt words, Kal fixed his eyes on Jai—but slowly shook his head.
"You are your own knight."
"And in truth, I know this much too—there are many, many people in this world who've unknowingly received your greatest kindness, yet speak ill of you behind your back."
"So in my eyes, you too are a true knight. A proper Kingsguard with a soul of his own—not so vile Kingslayer."
"..."
Upon hearing those words, the mocking smile froze on Jai's face, and a flash of unspeakable shock filled his eyes.
As the one directly involved, he knew exactly what Kal's words were referring to.
But what he couldn't understand… was how Kal could possibly know the secret he had hidden so deeply.
And yet, as he continued to look at Kal, a smile once again returned to Jai's face.
This ti, though, it was no longer one of mockery.
It was a smile of release—one of liberation.
"I'll tell you honestly: what tainted … was this white cloak. Nothing else." Jai said with a smile.
"But that was also the path through which you upheld your sense of honor—" Kal shook his head again. "You only lost your way, and took the wrong path in the tornt and guilt that followed."
"If that's so… then I'm willing to pay the price I deserve!"
The Kingslayer said this with a laugh—then raised his sword once more, pointing it toward Kal.
This man…
Whom he had never expected.
A kindred spirit.
"I won't kill you, and I won't kill her either!"
Seeing Jai Lannister once again raise his sword against him, Kal also lifted the longsword he called Pale Justice.
He spoke in an even tone.
"But I will kill you."
Jai didn't seem to care about Kal's rcy. Instead, he smiled as he said the words declaring his intent to kill Kal.
Understanding the aning behind his words, Kal's lips curled into a faint smile.
"If you're capable of it."
Hearing this, Jai narrowed his eyes slightly, then gave a short, matching chuckle.
And then, he offered Kal a solemn knight's salute.
Kal did not return it. He remained still in place.
He refused.
But that didn't matter anymore.
Because in the next instant, as the howling winds of the North swept into the ruined tower, the sound of a blade cutting through the air rang out.
[Clang!]
Kal blocked it effortlessly—and imdiately pressed back with a counterforce.
Jai knew all too well that he wasn't a match for the monster before him in terms of strength. Without hesitation, he retreated, shifting his weight—
Then suddenly arced around in a half-circle, slashing at Kal's lower leg from an oblique angle with a backhanded stroke.
That longsword, though not pale in color, bore a pale na—and it once again intercepted his attack with just the slightest downward angle.
Having failed to land a blow, Jai once again pulled his sword back.
But this ti, he didn't change the direction of his strike. Without any warning, he quickly lunged again—his sword tip darting back along the sa path, aiming this ti for Kal's thigh.
But what greeted him this ti wasn't Kal's sword.
Facing an opponent who kept targeting his lower body in an attempt to use their height difference to compensate for the gap in skill, Kal casually lifted his leg—
And then, without warning, he kicked Jai Lannister squarely on the wrist that held his sword.
[Crack!]
Jai felt a jolt of sharp pain shoot through his hand.
Forget continuing the attack—he nearly lost his grip on the sword entirely.
Without hesitation, and having deliberately held back so of his strength earlier, Jai imdiately pulled back and widened the distance between himself and Kal.
Giving himself a mont to breathe.
Seeing that Jai turned and backed away after just a single kick, Kal didn't bother to give chase.
There was nowhere for him to run anyway.
And having failed with three consecutive strikes—and now even taking a hit himself—Jai retreated and saw that Kal hadn't pursued him…
Only then did he finally glance down at his wrist.
He reached over to pull back his sleeve, and saw that the spot where he'd been kicked was steadily turning red and swelling. At the sa ti, a numb weakness was welling up inside him—he could barely hold his sword steady.
Staring at his trembling hand, weakened from just a single kick, a bitter look crept onto Jai's face.
"So overwhelmingly strong… It's hopeless. I'm like a child who's just learned to walk, standing in front of you."
"No need for despair. It only applies when facing ," Kal replied, twirling his sword in an elegant flourish. "After all, it's the sa for everyone who faces ."
Hearing Kal's completely unreserved words, Jai's smile grew even more bitter.
But he didn't deny them.
"To you, maybe this is just a ga…"
"But to —this is the mountain I must climb!"
Ignoring the numbness and weakness in his hand, Jai forced his muscles to obey and gripped his longsword tightly.
With a clench of his jaw, he charged toward Kal once more.
This ti, he wouldn't retreat.
Because he knew—this was his one final chance.
And once his resolve was set, Jai's attack on Kal no longer held any of the flashy flair it had before.
He launched himself forward with a straight thrust—the fastest technique he had—aiming directly for Kal's chest.
A fierce resolve surged through him, giving him the strength to charge without hesitation.
Kal saw right through him.
So this ti, instead of simply blocking the attack as he had in their previous exchanges, he lifted his sword—
Then suddenly let his wrist go soft.
And in a strange, fluid motion, positioned his blade a palm's length from the tip, intercepting Jai's oncoming sword mid-air:
The sword of Lannister, now caught.
Kal's blade pressed against Jai's, and with a smooth, gentle force, he guided and diverted Jai's weapon to the side.
And as the two longswords clashed, Jai could clearly feel a strange force emanating from Kal's blade—spreading like a twisting vine, it seized his sword and forcibly diverted its trajectory.
Faced with such an uncanny maneuver, Jai frowned.
But his reaction was swift. Just as Kal began using his subtle technique to pull at the blade—
Jai made the decision not to resist or try to pull his sword back.
Instead, he did the opposite and shoved it forward with even greater force.
At once, a crisp tallic ring echoed through the air, followed by the screeching hiss of steel sliding against steel.
Jai's longsword smoothly slipped free from Kal's eerie control, returning fully to his grasp.
Kal was slightly taken aback. He hadn't expected Jai to react so quickly—or that his thod of breaking the move would be so clever.
It was a pleasant surprise.
Still, surprise or not, neither of them paused in this instant of close-quarters exchange.
The gilded longsword that had been caught by Kal's refined technique just monts ago—
Was now, in an instant, reversed in control. Jai used the crossguard of his own sword to push against Kal's blade, driving the clash toward Kal's exposed edge.
And realizing that his desperate strike had managed to gain him a brief upper hand, Jai—without ti to feel pleased—instinctively brought his free hand to brace the poml of his sword.
Then, using the combined strength of both arms, he set the crossguard of his weapon against Kal's blade as a pivot point—and with a swift twist of his gilded sword—
That cold, gleaming edge flashed toward Kal's neck.
"A remarkable move!"
Kal's voice of admiration rang out—just as a sharp, grating screech pierced the air.
A sound so piercing it felt like it could rip the soul straight from a man's body.
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