The morning sky stretched endlessly above Frostbound Coast.
Cold winds drifted across the training grounds.
Snowflakes danced through the air.
The entire field had become unusually crowded.
Knights gathered around the arena.
Guards stood atop fences.
Even several servants had quietly arrived.
Everyone knew something important was about to happen.
Three days had passed since Gareth sent messengers to the frontier outposts.
Three days since Kel requested the strongest Expert Knights stationed across Frostbound Coast.
And now...
They had arrived.
Three men stepped into the training grounds.
The atmosphere itself changed.
Unlike ordinary knights.
Unlike veteran soldiers.
Unlike experts.
These three stood at the very edge of something greater.
The edge of Master Rank.
The final step remained.
Only one step.
Yet countless swordsmen spent their entire lives unable to cross it.
The three men approached Kel.
Each wore combat armor instead of ceremonial equipment.
Battle scars covered their faces.
Their movements carried the confidence only years of life-and-death battles could create.
The first knight possessed broad shoulders and silver hair.
The second had a scar running across his nose.
The third remained unusually calm.
His eyes never stopped observing his surroundings.
All three bowed.
"My Lord."
Kel nodded.
"Welcome back."
The three straightened.
Then Gareth stepped forward.
"Lord Kel personally requested your presence."
The knights exchanged glances.
The silver-haired knight finally spoke.
"We came immediately after receiving the order."
Kel nodded.
Then pointed toward the training field.
At Lyra.
The serpent woman stood calmly holding a wooden sword.
Her long dark hair fluttered beneath the winter winds.
Golden eyes calmly observed the three knights.
The silver-haired knight blinked.
"...The Guardian?"
Kel nodded.
"Correct."
Then he continued.
"Fight her."
The three knights looked confused.
Then Kel added.
"All three of you."
Silence.
The confusion intensified.
The third knight finally spoke.
"Together?"
"Together."
The knights looked toward Lyra.
Then toward Kel.
Then back toward Lyra.
The silver-haired knight hesitated.
"My Lord..."
A pause.
"Wouldn't that be unfair?"
Nearby knights immediately began whispering.
Because they already knew what answer was coming.
Kel calmly replied.
"Yes."
The three knights froze.
Then Kel continued.
"It is unfair."
Another pause.
"For her."
The training grounds exploded.
Several knights nearly choked.
The three experts looked stunned.
Meanwhile.
Lyra simply sighed.
After training under Kel.
She had become accustomed to such things.
The Count turned toward her.
Then spoke.
"Lyra."
The serpent woman looked up.
Kel's expression remained calm.
"I am removing one restriction."
The surrounding knights immediately focused.
A restriction?
What restriction?
Then Kel continued.
"You may use Aura."
The arena became silent.
Lyra blinked.
Then smiled.
A real smile.
The first one she had shown since entering the training grounds.
Finally.
Aura.
The power she had spent centuries cultivating.
The power she had deliberately suppressed for weeks.
Kel raised a finger.
"Only Aura."
The smile immediately became smaller.
"No Mana."
Smaller.
"No Serpent Form."
Smaller.
"No Transformation."
Smaller.
"No other abilities."
The smile disappeared entirely.
Several knights immediately laughed.
Even Gareth looked away.
The serpent woman looked offended.
Very offended.
Kel ignored it.
"Understood?"
Lyra sighed.
"...Understood."
The Count nodded.
Then stepped back.
The battle could begin.
The three Expert Knights entered the arena.
Instantly.
Their formation appeared.
Center.
Left.
Right.
No hesitation.
No confusion.
Years of cooperation had created instinctive coordination.
The three warriors spread apart.
Creating a perfect triangle.
An encirclement.
Meanwhile.
Lyra slowly stepped forward.
Wooden sword in hand.
Then...
Something changed.
Aura emerged.
A pressure spread across the arena.
Golden-white energy slowly wrapped around her body.
The snow around her feet lifted into the air.
The winds shifted.
The atmosphere trembled.
The surrounding knights widened their eyes.
This was the first time many of them had seen Lyra using Aura.
And immediately they understood something.
The Guardian of Frostbound Coast had been holding back.
Heavily.
Very heavily.
A smile appeared on Lyra's face.
Not a polite smile.
Not a gentle smile.
A battle smile.
The smile of someone who finally found worthy opponents.
The silver-haired knight immediately frowned.
"Dangerous."
The third knight nodded.
"Very."
The center knight lowered his stance.
"Don't underestimate her."
Then—
The battle began.
BOOM!
All three knights exploded forward simultaneously.
Like arrows released from a bow.
The ground cracked beneath their feet.
Three wooden swords attacked at once.
Three directions.
Three trajectories.
Three killing paths.
Lyra's eyes narrowed.
CLANG!
She barely blocked.
The impact traveled through her arms.
Pain immediately appeared.
Yet her stance held.
The battle intensified.
Instantly.
No testing.
No probing.
No hesitation.
Only combat.
Pure combat.
The three Expert Knights fought perfectly together.
One attacked.
One pressured.
One waited.
The moment Lyra blocked one strike...
Another arrived.
The moment she dodged...
The third attacked.
Their teamwork was flawless.
Minutes passed.
Five.
Ten.
Fifteen.
The arena transformed into a storm of sword strikes.
Wood shattered.
Snow exploded.
Aura collided.
The spectators watched breathlessly.
Meanwhile.
Kel observed silently.
His eyes never left the battlefield.
Far beneath Scarder Lake.
Seiren also watched.
"Interesting."
Kel didn't answer.
Because something important was happening.
The battle continued.
The three knights grew increasingly desperate.
Because Lyra wasn't falling.
No matter what they did.
She adapted.
Learned.
Improved.
During battle.
The silver-haired knight suddenly roared.
His Aura surged.
Then—
An Aura Sword appeared.
The arena froze.
A floating blade manifested beside him.
The spectators gasped.
One Aura Sword.
Master Rank.
The threshold had opened.
The silver-haired knight stared.
Disbelief filled his eyes.
He had finally done it.
Years.
Decades.
And finally...
Master.
Nearby.
The other two knights widened their eyes.
Then suddenly.
Something clicked.
They understood.
The pressure.
The challenge.
The battle.
Everything aligned.
Aura exploded from both of them.
One floating sword appeared.
Then another.
Three Aura Swords now hovered over the battlefield.
The crowd erupted.
"MASTER!"
"THEY BROKE THROUGH!"
"They actually broke through!"
The three former Experts laughed.
Not because of victory.
Because they had finally crossed the threshold.
Meanwhile.
Lyra's situation worsened.
Rapidly.
The battle intensified.
Three Aura Swords.
Three Masters.
The pressure became overwhelming.
CLANG!
A sword struck her shoulder.
Blood.
Another strike.
Blood.
Another.
Another.
Another.
Blood stained the snow.
Her breathing grew heavier.
Her movements slowed.
Yet...
She remained standing.
The three new Masters exchanged glances.
Then nodded.
If they wished to end this battle.
Now was the moment.
Aura surged again.
The floating swords trembled.
Then...
A second Aura Sword appeared beside each knight.
The training grounds exploded.
Six Aura Swords.
Six.
The newly advanced Masters had somehow forced another breakthrough.
Their understanding deepened.
Their Aura expanded.
Their control evolved.
Six floating blades pointed toward Lyra.
The atmosphere itself trembled.
The surrounding knights looked speechless.
Gareth clenched his fists.
The pressure was absurd.
Even the snow seemed frozen in place.
At the center of the battlefield.
Lyra stood alone.
Blood covered her body.
Cuts lined her arms.
Her breathing became ragged.
The wooden sword in her hand had cracked.
Blood dripped onto the snow.
Yet...
She remained standing.
Using the sword as support.
Golden eyes stared forward.
Directly at six floating Aura Swords.
Directly at three newly advanced Masters.
No fear.
Only excitement.
Far beneath Scarder Lake.
Seiren suddenly laughed.
"There it is."
Kel remained silent.
"What?"
The Guardian's voice carried amusement.
"The look."
A pause.
"The moment someone falls in love with a path."
Kel looked toward Lyra.
And finally understood.
Because despite her wounds.
Despite the blood.
Despite the overwhelming disadvantage.
The serpent woman was smiling.
A wide.
Dangerous.
Beautiful smile.
The smile of someone standing before a mountain.
And wanting to climb it.
The smile of someone who had finally found a destination.
The smile of a swordswoman.
And for the first time...
Kel thought.
Perhaps.
Just perhaps.
Lyra was finally ready to learn the true Sovereign's Orbit Sword Arts.