Chapter 271: Sneaky Guest (5)

It was now late at night.

In the middle of an indoor training hall, where only the direct relatives of the Lindsay family were allowed to enter, Ilya Lindsay stood there with her eyes closed.

Naturally, her thoughts went towards the spar...no, the fight which had taken place today.

It was definitely... something which couldn't be called a simple spar.

It was too harsh to be called that.

Because her father's sword was full of life and Ignet's sword was full of poison.

'No, is it right to call it poison?'

That wasn't the correct way to say it.

It was true that Ignet's skills were still not as good as Joshua Lindsay, but the gap wasn't so wide that it could just be ignored.

In fact, even this was surprising.

Even though they were two generations apart in age, her father maintained a serious attitude from the beginning to the end of the duel.

But,

That wasn't all.

The swordsmanship of Ignet Crescentia began to replay in Ilya Lindsay's head.

'It was stubborn, persistent, and somewhat toxic too... Ignet's sword was far from anything like that before.'

It was incomprehensible.

To stand up against something stronger than herself.

What was more, in order to face the Lord of the Lindsay family, who induced the power of wind into his sword, the very thought that she had to endure it must have dominated Ignet's mind. Since she didn't want to be blown off the ground, she had given strength to her feet and had held her hands tightly and stood there valiantly.

Ignet was like that.

No matter how strong the wind was,

Even if a stronger storm came onto her or even if it was a typhoon...

She wouldn't shake.

Nor would she be swayed.

She would bravely strive forth and display her sword.

'Even in the moment of defeat...'

The result was as expected, her father had won.

As time passed, the fierce and ruthless sword attacks made Ignet wounded and she eventually fell.

Nevertheless.

She had shone bright.

Watching her calmly surrender to the outcome of the duel without losing her sanity, Ilya realized that she had been judging her opponent wrongly until now.

'She is a lot stronger than I thought. Like...'

Like a king who wouldn't lose his dignity in front of anyone.

Ilya Lindsay who thought till there, took a deep breath and then slowly opened her eyes.

"..."

Even then, numerous thoughts were still running through her head.

The figure of her father wielding the sword and the energy in it. The figure of Ignet who didn't give in and did her best.

In the past, she would have felt a painful burning in her chest.

Because even with the Sky Sword of her father, he couldn't completely take down the light that was shining down on Ignet. 1

Then why?

After the duel, Ilya's heart didn't beat impatiently nor did it seem like the loss was painful.

She continued to ponder a little more and then came up with an answer,

As she smiled.

Woong!

Ilya Lindsay, who drew out her sword, continued to move smoothly.

The Sky Sword.

The vision of her family which could be inherited by blood alone. The swordsmanship which the hero, Dion Lindsay created and something anyone would covet.

She had hoped for that inexorable power.

The absolute violence that it had with which one who mastered it, could cut through a devil the size of a fortress and in extreme cases, destroy even the sea... she had desperately wanted it.

But not now.

It wasn't the devil, or Ignet Cresentia or her brother Carl that was on her mind.

It was Airn Pareira.

Recalling him, who had shown her a new world, Ilya's swordsmanship grew deeper.

Woong!

Wooong!

Woooong!

A wind rose.

It was different from what her father had shown in the fight with Ignet.

It was different from the records which were passed down from generations.

Her ancestor Dion Lindsay's sword was like the sword of a king, which was said to have the ability to bring down everything which exists in the sky.

She had wanted that.

She was under the impression that only by attaining that would she be able to face Ignet who was called 'the sun', so she had lived her whole life repeating what she had seen in the records...

'But not anymore'

Ilya closed her eyes again and Airn's face came to her mind.

Not just his face, but his eyes and his awkward smile, and him in his entirety.

What was it?

What he felt like wasn't just the will of steel.

The fighting spirit he had was fierce enough to be comparable to Judith's.

There were times when her heart fluttered at his presence which was like flowing water, when she had met him in his estate.

And recently he had changed even more.

He was now a person who could fully embrace his feelings like the wide and sturdy earth.

'I want to be like that too.'

Woong...

Ilya's sword moved slowly.

It was different from what she had seen her father do.

It contained neither the fighting spirit that seemed to want to tear the world apart, nor the coercive feeling of pressing someone down.

It was filled with warmth and comfort.

Instead of staring down from the sky...

...it was in a position slightly lower than the sky, and it was more like it was familiar with the sky but also embraced the earth.

The moment she made up her mind and affirmed her thoughts, a stronger wind blew from Ilya's Sword.

Wooong!

The wind she created now was different from the aura which was normally shed by her sword.

The shining silver light was proof of it.

An energy dense enough to be called an 'Aura Sword' was on her sword and it filled everything around her.

"..."

The form of Ilya soared into the sky.

Similar to what Joshua Lindsay had done when he fought with Airn.

Of course, the difference in power was evident, but it was clear from Ilya's actions that the scene that had occurred then could be related to what was happening now.

And more importantly.

This was something she had made herself...in her own way, with her own thoughts, and without the help of others.

She broke through the wall in the form which suited her the best.

And the Lindsay family head, who had suddenly entered the training hall, just stood there and watched quietly.

"..."

One hour.

Two hours.

Finally, three hours passed.

Even after this long, Joshua Lindsay was still standing there, watching his daughter. Frankly, it was shocking even for him.

There was no way to suppress the joy blooming within him. But the thought which struck him stronger was the sense of relief that had overcome him.

As he shed a tear, he remembered the confrontation with Ignet he had before.

'... honestly, I regretted letting my daughter see that.'

The sword of Ignet Crescentia was so fierce.

He could deal with Airn Pareira who had shown tremendous growth in recent times, but not Ignet.

She could find the gaps that he had very fast during the duel and that was something that always created an advantageous situation for her.

He had to work hard to hide his gaps and persevere through the fight.

Even if he hadn't done his best against her, he couldn't say that the fight was in vain.

That was why he didn't harm her.

Strictly speaking, during the fight, there was a point when he didn't think of her as the reason that resulted in the disappearance of his son, and rather, just admired her as his opponent.

Leaving aside the issues regarding the devils and the impending crisis on the continent....

It was because he thought it would be impossible for him to do something as a swordsman and destroy the future of the greatest genius in history with his own hands.

But...

'I wasn't lacking in the end.'

Joshua Lindsay wiped his tears with his sleeve.

Was it because of his relationship with his daughter?

Or did the thing called 'sorcerer's instinct' come down onto him for a while?

Through his daughter's swordsmanship, he could feel her heart and her emotions faintly.

The sadness caused by Carl Lindsay.

Her obsession with Ignet Crescentia.

The little resentment she had towards herself, and her distrust in the world for them being too harsh on her brother.

And most importantly, the freedom she had attained from all of that. Ilya Lindsay, now seemed as free as the wind.

'One the other hand, what about me?'

Joshua Lindsay looked back on himself.

Even though he recognized the problem as he looked at Airn who was much younger than him, he still ended up being disturbed by the request of Ignet.

He felt it before, during and even after the fight.

He would never be able to let go of his children for the rest of his life. Maybe it was different for other parents, but it still felt unattainable to him.

Unless his son came back and the good old days returned, he wouldn't be able to get out of this.

But.

He was glad that one person had let go of their past.

He looked at his daughter, Ilya Lindsay, wielding the sword with a happy expression on her face.

Watching her with warm eyes, Joshua Lindsay vowed.

Now...

I won't be stuck.

I won't be caught in the irretrievable past and jeopardize my present happiness.

Remembering his son's past and not worrying about his daughter's future. I will think of only the good things.

Carl Lindsay...

I'll let you go now.

"..."

Really, I'll let you go.

At that moment, Ilya's body, which had risen a meter above, fell to the floor.

Joshua moved to her who was now staggering.

And asked to support his daughter.

"Are you fine?"

"... I think so."

Saying that, Ilya thought for a second and corrected her words a little.

"No, I feel good. Really good."

"Really?"

"Yes. It seems like something heavy which had been tying me down has finally blown away..."

They were sincere words.

She really wanted to convey the refreshing feeling within her but she couldn't think of the right words.

After thinking for a second, she said,

"I am sorry, but I want to organize my thoughts."

"Sure, we'll talk later."

"Yes. Thank you, dad."

Ilya smiled brightly and sat on the floor.

It didn't seem like something a lady would show, but it was fine. Because his daughter was a knight first, rather than a noble.

A genius knight worthy of leaving her name in the history of the continent, she was not inferior to Ignet in any way.

Joshua Lindsay smiled warmly as he watched his daughter understand what she had been through.

He didn't know it, but little by little, his tightly shut heart was being released.

And the clown devil, who was watching this, spoke to the man.

"Oh, this is both sad and happy."

"..."

"Dear little sister is finding happiness and her father is finding peace. Right, very nice! Such a harmonious family! However, I don't know if this can be welcomed in your situation?" 2

"..."

The man didn't say anything.

This wasn't special in any way.

It wasn't unexpected either. He always thought things would turn out like this.

No, it would be right to say that the timing was much later than he had imagined.

... but.

He felt again that it wasn't a pleasant feeling to be forgotten by his precious people.

"Let's go for now."

The priest rose from his spot.

So did the clown. Even though the clown was a devil, it was impossible for it to roam around without any abilities due to the past battle.

So, he just followed the priest.

And it was the same with the man.

He no longer would go back to the past.

For that reason, there was no choice but to move ahead, and there was no choice but to keep chasing whoever was chasing after them.

Carl Lindsay hid himself in the darkness where the sun would never shine. 3