Lusian extended his hand.
Seventeen spheres of dark mana appeared around him, slowly rotating like small stars trapped by his will.
He could feel the change within his body.
Ever since he had consumed Basilco's flesh, his magical core had continued growing stronger. Mana flowed through every part of his body with an intensity he had never experienced before.
Albert watched the spheres in silence.
A faint smile appeared on his face.
—You modified your magic again...
His eyes examined each sphere before stopping on Lusian.
—You no longer fight the same way you did a week ago.
Lusian did not answer.
The seventeen spheres shot forward at the same time.
The hall trembled beneath the explosion of dark energy.
Albert took only a single step to the side.
He deflected one sphere with the palm of his hand.
He shattered another with a movement of his sword.
The remaining ones struck the floor, raising a cloud of black dust.
Lusian appeared through the curtain of smoke.
His sword descended with force.
Albert raised his forearm.
The impact made the entire hall vibrate.
But it failed to move him even an inch.
—Faster.
Lusian retreated.
His eyes shone.
—I'm not finished yet.
A sword of dark mana formed behind him.
It slowly rotated.
Then accelerated.
It whistled through the air and descended upon Albert.
The old master destroyed it with a single slash.
But before he could finish the movement...
Another sword appeared above his back.
He turned.
He cut it in half.
A third emerged beneath his feet.
A fourth descended from the side.
A fifth appeared above his head.
A sixth attacked directly toward his neck.
The sound of steel filled the hall.
Again and again.
The swords continued appearing without pause.
Every time Albert destroyed one...
Another immediately took its place.
The attack was not designed to land a decisive blow.
It was designed to force him to defend himself endlessly.
Albert began moving throughout the entire hall.
Blocking.
Dodging.
Deflecting.
Retreating.
For the first time since the training began, he stopped advancing and limited himself to simply responding.
A smile slowly appeared on his face.
—I see...
Another sword descended.
He destroyed it.
A new one emerged behind him.
—It was not designed to kill with a single strike.
Another sword.
Another block.
—It was designed to control the battlefield.
Another slash.
Another sword appeared immediately.
—As long as that sword exists...
No one can force you to fight by their rules.
The battle continued.
Minutes passed without either side yielding.
The floor became covered in slash marks.
The walls were filled with scars.
The air trembled from the constant clash of mana.
Lusian gritted his teeth harder and harder.
His breathing became heavy.
The swords began appearing with a slight delay.
His control was starting to fail.
Finally...
The last sword disintegrated.
The seventeen dark spheres disappeared at the same time.
Lusian fell to his knees, gasping for breath.
His magical core was completely empty.
Albert slowly sheathed his sword.
He was not even breathing heavily.
He approached until he stood in front of Lusian.
For several seconds, he said nothing.
He simply stared at the place where the mana sword had appeared over and over again.
Finally, he smiled.
—So that was why you maintained a materialized sword during your battle against Basilco.
Lusian let out a tired laugh.
—I wanted to test whether I could maintain an active spell while fighting...
But it wasn't enough.
I couldn't even touch you.
Albert shook his head.
—That is because you were fighting me.
Lusian looked up.
Albert continued.
—Do not underestimate that spell.
He crouched in front of him.
—It may not have the power to kill an enemy instantly.
But that is irrelevant.
He pointed toward the center of the hall.
—It forces the opponent to constantly react.
It forces them to spend energy.
It prevents them from approaching.
And it completely disrupts the rhythm of any swordsman.
A slight smile appeared on his face.
—You did not create a spell to win.
You created a spell to dominate the battlefield.
Lusian remained silent.
He had never thought about it that way.
Albert stood up.
—Keep perfecting it.
Today you summoned one sword.
Someday it will be ten.
Then one hundred.
And when that day comes...
Even the greatest swordsmen will hesitate to approach you.
He turned his back and began walking away.
—Good work, boy.
Today, for the first time in a long while...
You managed to force me to fight seriously.
Lusian let out a long sigh and collapsed onto the wooden floor beside Jean.
For several seconds, neither of them spoke.
Only their exhausted breathing could be heard.
Albert, satisfied with the training, picked up his cup of tea again and left the hall with complete calm, as if leaving two young people unable to move their legs was the most normal thing in the world.
When the door closed, Jean let out a small laugh.
—I think I won't be able to walk today either.
Lusian barely turned his head to look at her.
—You still can't feel your legs?
She slowly shook her head.
—No... and judging by how my uncle trained me, I suspect I won't feel them tomorrow either.
Lusian smiled tiredly.
—Me neither.
Damn Albert...
Jean let out another laugh.
Silence settled between them again.
After a few moments, Jean spoke once more.
—By the way...
I actually came looking for you.
Lusian raised an eyebrow.
—Me?
—Yes.
But my uncle found me first.
He said I had to train before I could talk to you.
She slowly turned her eyes toward the ceiling.
—Then the concept of "afterward" stopped existing.
Lusian could not help but laugh.
—That definitely sounds like Albert.
Jean smiled as well, although the happiness quickly disappeared from her expression.
Her face darkened again.
—I wanted to talk to you about Isabella.
Lusian fell silent.
Jean took a deep breath before continuing.
—Since Caleb died...
She hasn't been the same.
She lowered her gaze.
—She blames herself for everything.
She thinks that if she had rejected Caleb more firmly...
If she had been more careful...
No one would have been able to use her name to set a trap for him.
—She barely sleeps.
She hardly eats.
And every time someone knocks on the mansion door...
She thinks the Douglas family has come to execute her.
Lusian remained motionless.
Jean tightly clasped her hands against her chest.
—I have known her since we were children.
She was always strong.
Always smiling.
But now...
I'm afraid she will end up destroying herself.
Her eyes became moist.
—I know Isabella did nothing wrong.
She would never be capable of setting a trap for Caleb.
Never.
Lusian slowly closed his eyes.
He knew Isabella as well.
He could perfectly imagine the hell she must be living through.
After a few seconds, he answered calmly.
—My father will not listen to anyone.
Right now, he only wants revenge.
He opened his eyes and looked at the ceiling.
—But my mother is different.
She is still trying to discover who is behind all of this.
He remained silent for a moment.
—I will talk to her.
I cannot promise she will stop the war...
But I can promise she will do everything possible to find the real culprit.
Jean released the breath she had been holding.
A small smile appeared on her face.
It was not a smile of happiness.
It was the expression of someone who, for the first time in many days, had found a small piece of hope.
—Thank you, Lusian.
He smiled tiredly.
—Don't thank me yet.
First, let's wait until we can feel our legs again.
Jean let out an involuntary laugh.
—I suppose that will be our first challenge.
The two remained lying on the training hall floor, far too exhausted to stand.
For a few minutes, war, death, and conspiracies seemed impossibly far away.
Although both of them knew...
that peace would not last for long.