As the punches rained down on Emerion's body from left and right, he couldn't think of anything else. His mind went completely blank.
He didn't even attempt to dodge the strikes, as they moved as fast as the speed of sound. He had no room for regret or sorrow. However, this overwhelming sensation dragged unpleasant memories to the surface memories of a time he never wanted to relive.
Flashback
In the Garden of Dawnveil Estate on a bright morning, birds were chirping. Lilies, roses, and tulips filled the air with a fresh aroma.
But there was also the aroma of blood on the soft green grass, presenting a moment of sharp contrast. The clash of wooden swords transformed the calm, beautiful morning into a battlefield.
"I... I... can't..." The panting, exhausted voice belonged to a young Emerion. His clothes were covered in dust. He bore wounds as if he had just returned from a war. At that moment, he could barely stand, let alone hold his sword to fight the demon of a woman standing before him.
"You can't, or you won't?" the woman asked in a calm, icy voice a voice that could intimidate even veteran soldiers. Her 195 cm height and long, flowing silver hair served as a warning that she was far more than just a pretty face.
"M-mother, I can't stand up..." Emerion said again, looking at the woman who showed no sign of sympathy for his state. Instead, she stepped forward, her expression entirely blank.
"I told you not to call me that. You may share my blood, but I have no care for you. For the sake of the name you share with me, I will train you so you do not bring shame to our house. Now, get up," the woman said in her cold, steady voice, tapping her wooden sword against the ground. Emerion felt his heart ache, but these words were not new to his ears.
"I... can't..." Emerion tried to rise, but his strength failed, and he fell back to the earth. He felt tears welling in his eyes, yet his mother remained indifferent.
"Do you think enemies outside or enemies within will show you mercy just because you give excuses? Get up before I count to three, or I will drag you back to your feet," the woman said, brushing dirt from the edge of her wooden sword before tapping it on the ground again.
'She is crazy... Why was I ever born to experience this? I just want to go outside and play,' little Emerion thought to himself. He didn't realize his mother had already finished her count. Suddenly, he felt a strong grip on the back of his sleeve. Extreme pain flared through him as he was hauled back to his feet. His legs shook with agony.
"Now, defend yourself." The woman struck at him. At the last possible moment, he drew his wooden sword. Their weapons clashed, but the woman's technique was so superior that the impact sent Emerion reeling backward. He thought it might be over, but she closed the distance in the blink of an eye, continuing her relentless strikes against his sword. His defense was now completely exposed.
It was as if the woman wasn't even using ten percent of her power. The force of the strikes made it nearly impossible for Emerion to maintain his grip. Shockwaves generated by the impact sent a thrilling yet painful sensation through his muscles.
"M-mother, stop! I can't go on..." Emerion said, his voice breaking into a cry. He knew that if he let go of the sword, her strike would hit him squarely in the head, causing him to pass out as he always did. But holding on made things even worse; he felt as though his muscles were burning from the inside.
"Stop calling me that, I told you. Besides, your enemy won't show you any mercy. When you face someone much stronger than you, or when you feel restricted, what do you do?" the woman asked in her usual cold tone, never slowing her strikes even while speaking. Emerion's mind was in too much of a blank state to answer such a complex question. The woman sighed.
"You watch. Then, you will definitely find a flaw in their technique, because nothing in this world is perfect. If you find the flaw, you think of a way to expose it. Whether you have to use your surroundings or break your own bones, it doesn't matter, as long as you are the last one standing." The woman spoke every word like a command, catching the attention of Emerion's fading consciousness.
"Those who focus on the problem always end up defeated on their knees. Those who identify the problem and focus on finding a solution emerge victorious. If a problem occurs, the solution comes along with it, because the nature of this universe is balance," the woman said, continuing her assault. Emerion couldn't quite understand the second part of her speech.
'Just watch, huh... But how can I spot a flaw in something I can barely see?' Emerion wondered. He felt he would soon lose his grip on the sword and the training session would end the usual way with him unconscious. Little Emerion didn't want to experience that again, yet it happened every time.
'Why me? Every time, this woman makes me do this hard training... she only stops when I pass out. Why me? Every time, I feel the same pain.' As Emerion drifted into his thoughts, he noticed that his mother always hit his sword in a specific area most of the time. Considering his mother could cut through giant boulders without breaking a sweat, he realized she was going easy on him in her own way.
"You haven't learned anything. This will continue until you show some progress," the woman said, her voice cold and her eyes narrowing. Emerion gulped. As the next strike hit his sword, he intentionally dropped it, taking the following blow directly to his face. He had predicted where she would hit by observing the pattern.
The woman looked amused by her son's act, but what surprised her most was seeing the young boy catch the edge of the wooden sword in his mouth. As blood leaked from his lips and tears streamed from his eyes, he snatched his sword from the ground and, with his small hand, managed to hit the woman on her shoulder.
For a moment, everything went silent. Emerion feared he had made things worse, but the woman's mature face showed a hint of a smirk that she quickly suppressed. To her, the strike was like a mere gust of wind passing by.
"I... I... am sorry," Emerion said in a terrified voice, looking up at his mother. She said nothing and didn't move; she simply stared at the ground. Then, suddenly...
"Haha... Haha... Haha!" The woman laughed somewhat maniacally, a hint of delight in her eyes as if she were impressed by the young boy's guts. A few guards and Emerion's father rushed into the garden upon hearing her laughter. They saw the badly wounded Emerion, but they showed no concern for him.
"Lady Aurelith, are you okay...?" a guard asked in a trembling voice. Nobody dared to approach the woman; even her husband hesitated despite her beauty.
"Oh, everything is wonderful today." The woman stopped laughing and stepped closer to young Emerion, whose face was covered in blood as if he were smeared with sauce. Emerion's body shook with fear as she touched his hands; he thought she was going to resume the training. But, to his surprise, the pain and the scratches across his body began to disappear.
The entire garden went quiet as the woman's hands glowed green, channeling healing magic into her son. It was clear this was not out of pity or sympathy, for she was not that kind of mother.
"You learned your lesson today. Even though that hit on me was pathetic, you deserve this healing." The woman stood up and left the garden, casting one final glance at her son before heading inside the estate. The soldiers began to whisper among themselves.
"Did he really hit the Blood Empress?"
"I can't believe it. We've spared with her and couldn't find a single opening in her technique."
"She's broken many of my bones, I can't believe he actually managed to land a hit."
"She is one of the best healers, too. She used her magic on him, which she rarely does."
"Does this kid really have potential like his younger sister?"
The whispering continued. Emerion's father stared at him for a moment while listening to the gossip.
"One hit doesn't make you great. So, don't let it get to your head, Child of Fortune," Emerion's father said harshly before leaving. Little Emerion just stared in confusion, unable to understand why they were speaking to him that way.
Back to the Present
"Why have you gone so quiet? Don't tell me you've given up?" The cocky guard paused his punches for a moment, taking a sprinting like stance again before resuming his assault. Emerion's face was now covered in blood and bruises.
He still couldn't tell from which direction the punches were coming...
"Nobody is perfect... Watch their technique... Find a flaw... Use your surroundings... Even if you have to break your own bones, it's fine as long as you are the last one standing," Emerion murmured to himself as he received the blows. He never wanted to relive the memories of that training, but his mother's words kept echoing in his mind.
"What are you mumbling, eh? I guess your brain has stopped working. Don't worry, with this wave, it will be over," the brawny haired guard said, creating distance and taking his sprinting stance once more. The punches came rapidly again.
Emerion felt a surge of self-hatred; he couldn't see the punches clearly, nor could he sense the guard's mana to track his movement. He felt his training had been worthless.
'How pathetic... I can't even sense his mana... But... wait, why can't I? He is punching me, which means he is at a short distance...'
"If a problem occurs, the solution comes along with it," his mother's voice echoed again.
'There has to be something...' Emerion's brow furrowed in deep focus.
"You're still standing? Looks like you're a tough nut to crack. But you have no counter attack against my speed, so this time, it really is over for you," the brawny haired guard said, stopping briefly.
"If I die at the hands of someone like you... it will be a shame to the woman who bothered to train me," Emerion said with a hint of a smile, despite the bruises on his face. The guard looked surprised for a moment.
"What do you mean, 'someone like me'? I am an Imperial Knight of House Corvus. You should be proud your death comes by my hand. My name is Ryuuken, since you are going to die, you should know the name of the man who ended you," Ryuuken said with a smirk before taking his stance. Emerion's eyes lit up. Ryuuken charged forward as he always did.
But before he could reach his target... "Not this time." Emerion flew into the sky, getting out of the way just in time before another wave of punches could land. Ryuuken looked shocked, not expecting Emerion to take flight. He clenched his fist and flew up after him.
"Do you really think you can escape just by flying? You're wrong!" Ryuuken took his sprinting stance mid-air, rushing toward Emerion. But this time, at the last second, Emerion dodged, grabbed Ryuuken's hand, twisted it, and kicked him back down toward the ship.
"So, my theory was correct," Emerion said with a thoughtful expression. Ryuuken coughed up blood as he stood up on the deck, holding his back before flying toward Emerion again.
"One hit doesn't make you special!" His ego wounded, Ryuuken rushed again, but Emerion dodged with ease and punched Ryuuken straight in the face, sending him crashing back to the ship.
"Just as I thought. You are one of the few who cannot generate mana within your own body. Instead, you take mana from a specific medium to fuel your technique. Basically, you borrow it from the outside. Since it isn't your own, you have to 'recharge' it. That's why you take that sprinting position before attacking, right?" Emerion said confidently, floating in the night sky as the full moon rose high behind him. On the ship, Ryuuken looked frustrated that Emerion had figured out his trick.
"Stop saying nonsense..." Ryuuken clenched his fist and struck the ship's wall.
"Your frustration tells me my theory is correct. You cannot draw mana from the air, as it isn't your specific medium or element. I think that is the case for all three of you," Emerion said, looking first at Ryuuken, then at Anathema, and finally at his own shadow on the deck.
"You can come out now... I can see you from the sky," Emerion said, looking at his shadow. The curly-haired guard emerged from the darkness, looking stunned.
"H-how did you..." the guard stammered, while Ryuuken remained fuming.
"I thought it was my own body refusing to move from the wave of punches, but it was you holding my legs. But now you can't reach me, because my shadow is far below," Emerion said, looking down at them both. He remembered his sister's warning not to use ZALTREIGN. He paused.
'If I can't use my signature spell, I will use my elemental spells,' he thought. Meanwhile, Ryuuken and the curly haired guard, Rui, wondered what to do. They couldn't believe the tables had turned.
Before they could react, Emerion's hands began to glow with blue flames as he aimed at them. Ryuuken realized what was coming; using his speed, he grabbed Rui and they both leaped away to dodge the attack.
"Stay on the ground... in the sky, he has the advantage!" Ryuuken shouted to Rui, though it sounded like he was mostly trying to reassure himself. Sweat began to bead on his forehead.
"R-R-Ryuuken, look behind you!" Rui cried in a fearful tone. Ryuuken grew annoyed.
"What is it, Rui? The enemy is in front of us, not behind! You can't turn your back to the enemy, that's why you aren't an Imperial Knight yet!" Ryuuken snapped. But as a blue light caught his eye, he noticed that circles of blue flames now surrounded them. They were trapped.
"How... when...?" Ryuuken whispered in disbelief.
"You can't use your technique here either. These aren't normal flames; they're blue. You know what that means they are far hotter than normal fire. If we touch them, our skin will burn and our tissues will be destroyed," Rui said, looking around frantically.
"We can't even fly... he'll aim straight at us and we have no cover. He can finish us if he wants," Ryuuken said. Unable to contain his anger at himself, he punched the deck. Rui noticed Emerion floating in the sky, looking down at them with an expressionless gaze. The bright moon created an otherworldly aura around him, making his silver hair shine.
"Am I seeing what you're seeing?" Rui asked, his eyes widening.
"T-this can't be... I don't want to remember that night... no... even if death comes, not her," Ryuuken's voice shook. It was as if they were seeing someone else entirely in Emerion's place.
The ship's emergency bells began to ring because of the fire.
"Now, this is over," Emerion said, generating blue flames in his hands at a massive rate. The bells continued to ring in the background, sounding like a countdown for death itself.