The red-haired woman strode confidently toward them.
All the faction mbers’ eyes flashed with the sa question.
‘Who is she?’
The only one who looked at her without surprise was Karl.
“......”
Stopping at a reasonable distance, Akion scanned the faction mbers one by one.
She tilted her head slightly, then said curiously,
“So this is different from aura. So this is what you call mana.”
“What the hell are you?”
Her tone, like she was inspecting livestock, made Remic snap first.
Akion answered calmly.
“I’m one of the people who’ll be fighting you in the duel.”
“......”
“I ca to get a look at my opponents ahead of ti, but honestly, you don’t look so promising. You all seem so weak and scrawny—can you even fight properly?”
Her blatant provocation made the faction mbers frown.
Too weak to fight properly? What, did she think mages had to train their bodies to cast magic?
“...Ha! Unbelievable. Weak and scrawny? No wonder—you’ve been holed up in these backwoods and probably never even seen a mage before.”
Akion nodded without hesitation.
“Yeah. Never seen one. That’s why I ca all the way here in person.”
“......”
Remic was montarily at a loss for words, staring at her in disbelief.
Then Akion’s gaze landed on Karl.
Karl t her eyes.
She tilted her head slightly, then glanced between Remic and Sharon, saying,
“Those two look like the best of the bunch. So? How about showing what this amazing magic of yours can do?”
At those words, the other faction mbers also turned to look at Remic and Sharon.
Remic’s expression turned sour, and Sharon also frowned slightly.
From her tone, it was obvious she saw them as amateurs.
Remic let out a scoff of disbelief.
“Who the hell do you think you are, barking orders like that? Get lost before I make you eat dirt.”
“Hm...”
Akion stared at him for a mont, then smirked and said,
“You’ve got a nasty attitude. So do I.”
Whoosh!
Her body seed to vanish for a mont—and then suddenly, she was right in front of Remic.
Remic flinched and tried to summon a shield, but before he could, his body was swept into the air and sent flying.
She had hooked his leg in an instant.
“W-What the hell?!”
Startled by the sudden attack, one of the nearby faction mbers hastily began casting a spell.
An invisible shockwave shot toward Akion.
Boom!
“......”
Akion took the hit directly—and didn’t even flinch.
She didn’t move a single step.
The mage who had fired the spell even doubted for a mont whether the magic had gone off properly.
“...You bitch!”
Still on the ground, Remic also began casting.
The ground surged upward in jagged, towering waves to bury her.
But Akion didn’t move.
She simply extended a fist lightly forward.
BOOM!!
With a sound like the air itself tearing apart, the wave of rock collapsed and vanished into dust.
Remic’s face was filled with disbelief—he hadn’t expected it to be blocked so easily.
“Hmph...”
Disappointnt rapidly spread across Akion’s face.
“Nothing special. Guess that’s all I need to see.”
Just then, soone else entered the courtyard and called out.
“...Young lady!”
It was one of the Sky Sword Castle martial artists who had guided the faction mbers here.
Annoyed by the interruption, she clicked her tongue and frowned.
“I’ve seen what magic’s all about. Just flashy and pathetic. Better bring your A-ga in the duel.”
Then she launched herself into the air and vanished from the courtyard.
Karl watched her rapidly disappearing back.
Beside him, Remic ground his teeth and muttered,
“...Pathetic? You’ll see. In the duel, I’ll crush you.”
It was laughable nonsense.
If she had been serious, Remic wouldn’t have lasted even a few seconds.
[Lv.53]
[Heir of Sky Sword Castle]
A monster.
She looked around the sa age, but had already reached high-knight-tier level.
Calling her a genius wouldn’t even begin to cover it.
A once-in-a-generation talent.
Clearly one of the future titans who would one day shape the continent.
‘That woman is the heir of Sky Sword Castle?’
But why didn’t he know about her?
Karl knew a fair amount about the future.
If soone like her had beco the master of Sky Sword Castle, there was no way he wouldn’t have heard of her.
And if he rembered correctly, the next Lord of Sky Sword Castle wasn’t even supposed to be a woman.
‘Then... maybe she didn’t beco the Lord? Or even if she didn’t—soone like her, from Sky Sword Castle, should have...’
It didn’t make sense, but Karl decided not to dwell on it.
Her presence was definitely unexpected, but it wasn’t important.
What mattered now was Bashon Hexer, the current Lord of Sky Sword Castle.
The only thing that mattered was getting the Fragnt of Dinsion he had.
‘So that one’s joining the duel too.’
Karl had zero interest in the duel until now—but suddenly, things were looking a lot more entertaining.
He smirked and headed toward his building.
* * *
The Lord of Sky Sword Castle returned to the fortress just as the sun was beginning to set.
The faction mbers from Altius were gathered again and guided to the Lord’s Tower.
Bashon Hexer, Lord of Sky Sword Castle, had returned to host a dinner and officially greet them.
The atmosphere inside the Lord’s Tower was completely different from that of a magic school’s tower.
“Welco, mages of Altius. Sorry I couldn’t greet you sooner.”
After climbing the stairs all the way to the top-floor audience chamber, they finally stood before the Lord of Sky Sword Castle.
Bashon Hexer.
Karl stood quietly toward the back, watching him converse with Elder Hurst.
Like the heir he’d seen earlier, the man had striking, fla-like red hair—a middle-aged man with presence.
His build wasn’t even particularly large, yet the pressure he radiated seed to fill the entire room.
‘Is there any way I can talk to him alone...’
The reason Karl had co to Sky Sword Castle in the first place was to speak with its Lord.
But at this rate, he wouldn’t even get a chance to say a word—let alone ask about the Fragnt of Dinsion.
“So these are the mages participating in the duel.”
Just then, Bashon’s gaze shifted toward the young faction mbers, including Karl.
And their eyes t.
“...?!”
A trace of shock appeared on Bashon’s face.
He fell silent for a mont, as if at a loss for words, then looked at Karl directly and spoke.
“You there—are you participating in the duel as well?”
From his tone, Karl felt a strange mixture of excitent and anticipation.
Raphan, standing beside Elder Hurst, tried to answer with a proud smile.
“Yes, he—”
“No, I’m not.”
Karl cut him off.
Both Hurst and Raphan turned to Karl, wide-eyed.
Karl gave them a small shake of the head, then returned his gaze to Bashon.
“...You’re not?”
Bashon’s voice was laced with deep disappointnt.
It wasn’t a misunderstanding after all.
Karl felt a hunch—this might be a real opportunity—and answered calmly.
“I was added to the group late, after the lineup was already finalized. Unless sothing changes, I likely won’t be participating in the duel.”
“......”
Bashon remained expressionless.
But the silence carried even greater disappointnt.
For so reason, it was clear—he genuinely wanted Karl to take part in the duel.
Karl watched him, waiting for him to speak, then continued,
“The reason I ca to Sky Sword Castle was to ask Your Lordship sothing personal.”
“...Hm?”
“Since we’ve t like this, if I may be so bold... could you grant a private audience?”
His sudden request caused a stir among the faction mbers.
Even Elder Hurst ✧ NоvеIight ✧ (Original source) frowned slightly, as if to say what the hell are you doing?
This wasn’t a diplomatic mission—just a visit for a duel. Even so, there were basic courtesies to follow.
A young faction mber asking for a private audience with the Lord—how was that supposed to co across?
But surprisingly, Bashon nodded without hesitation, as if he’d been waiting for that.
“Very well. The al is ready—stay behind here after dinner. Elder Hurst, do you mind?”
Hurst gave a reluctant nod.
He had no idea what Karl was thinking, but had no particular reason to stop him either.
After dinner, Karl remained alone in the Lord’s Tower to face Bashon.
The man stared at him for a mont, then gave a dry laugh and spoke.
“I have plenty to ask you, but let’s hear your story first. What is it you wanted to ask personally?”
Karl was about to imdiately ask about the Fragnt of Dinsion—but then froze.
‘Ah... I didn’t think of a cover story.’
Maybe he’d been too hasty. He’d succeeded in getting a private audience, but hadn’t prepared an excuse for how he knew Bashon had the fragnt.
Still, with the opportunity right in front of him, there was no turning back now.
He had no idea how Bashon would react—but Karl steeled himself and asked,
“Do you happen to possess a blue stone, roughly the size of a fist, that contains mana?”
Bashon’s eyes widened.
From that reaction, Karl knew for sure—he did have a Fragnt of Dinsion.
“How do you know about that item?”
At least, he didn’t sound hostile.
Karl took a breath and said,
“It’s sothing I’ve been searching for a long ti. While chasing information across several guilds, I ca across a lead suggesting Your Lordship might possess it. That’s why I ca here.”
“Hm...”
Fortunately, Bashon seed satisfied with the explanation.
Information guilds did deal in all kinds of knowledge, after all.
And for Bashon, the blue stone wasn’t so great secret anyway.
“If I ask you what that item is, will you tell ?”
“I’m sorry, but I don’t actually know myself.”
“That’s a strange answer. Why are you collecting sothing when you don’t even know what it does?”
“I believe I’ll only understand its purpose once I’ve gathered all the pieces. Please think of it as a mage’s spirit of inquiry.”
Bashon nodded and crossed his arms.
“Well, yes. I do have it. Found it years ago in so ruin and shoved it into a storage room—it’s been gathering dust ever since.”
So to him, it wasn’t important at all.
“Sounds like you need it. Good timing.”
“...?”
“There’s sothing I want from you too. If you do that for , I’ll gladly give you that little rock.”
“What is it?”
What Bashon said next was what Karl had already anticipated.
“Participate in the friendly duel.”
But the words that followed even caught Karl off guard.
“And give my daughter—the heir of Sky Sword Castle—a taste of real defeat. I think you’re the only one who can.”
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