Chapter 215
215th Chapter: The Final Lesson (2)
This wasn’t the first time I had crossed swords with my mother.
In my very early years, I had received swordsmanship training from her to carry on the family legacy.
Usually so caring, my mother turned dark and grim whenever she held a sword.
Her demeanor became strict, and her voice deepened.
“Everyday life is one thing, teaching is another.”
Even as a child, such thoughts came to mind.
No matter how kind she was, my mother was the lady of the Chain Silver Martial Family and known as the Blood Queen.
When she wielded a sword, it was no surprise that she became someone else.
After all, she had experienced turmoil alongside my father, so she would never swing a sword lightly.
The same went for other instructors as well.
“But.”
My mother stood out as particularly unique among them.
I was too young then to see anything but the normal teaching side of my mother, but looking back now, something feels different.
It wasn’t just her personality turning strict; it was as if her emotions and the sword moved separately.
Having been tossed around by the Silver Age’s frenzy, I knew that now.
“It was as if she was being manipulated by the sword.”
I could hear stories of my mother when she was young.
She had left remarkable achievements of crushing an entire demon army single-handedly, yet afterward, she withdrew from the frontlines.
It was said she did so because there were no friends among those she had slain.
And despite being called the Blood Queen, she showed no signs of that theme within the mansion.
I only realized after her passing that my mother was the successor of the Blood Dragon.
In this manner, she completely concealed her bloodline’s powers within the family, and during her active years, she experienced the terrible trauma of killing her friends.
“So that’s why she started to hate wielding a sword.”
Once removed from the sword, my mother found peace in giving birth to me and Rayla.
Her goal was to leave behind the cursed bloodline and enjoy a tranquil life with family.
Yet she passed away without realizing that dream.
Because of her daughter’s mistake.
“She must be resenting me.”
Now resurrected as a corpse.
Even with no memories, I had her hold a sword.
I made her use the powers of the blood she despised so much.
It would be unnatural if she didn’t resent me.
So I must send her off responsibly.
With my own hands.
*
Koo-kaaang!-
A cold dust scattered in the air from Jenny’s sword strike.
But she hit nothing.
It was the first time actually using Radon’s technique in a real battle, but Rayla lifted her sword higher to block it with her longer reach.
“It’s a bit different from earlier.”
Rayla noticed as she was pushed back by the counter.
It was a different technique from the swordsmanship she demonstrated just moments ago.
The power wasn’t too shabby either.
Szzzurrr!-
Suddenly, ice formed on the ground.
Rayla jumped into the air to evade, but ice pillars began to sprout upwards.
Each pointed pillar aimed like an arrow.
Though she couldn’t move her legs in mid-air, she generated wings from her blood and soared freely to dodge.
“Not yet!”
Jenny shouted, causing more pillars to shoot upwards.
In an instant, over a hundred spiky pillars sprang up, targeting Rayla.
It was impossible to dodge the rapidly generated pillars using just her flight.
Rayla slashed through every incoming pillar with her blood sword technique.
Kwaaaaang!-
The numerous strikes shattered the pillars into chunks like debris.
But amidst that, another pillar rose, and Jenny, who was riding on it, launched a surprise assault.
<Chain Silver Style - Avalanche>
With snow seemingly sprouting from her back, Rayla managed to block the strike.
However, a tremendous pressure from Jenny’s sword transferred to her, causing Rayla to crash down to the ground.
Rayla landed with a thud on the icy floor. At that moment, Jenny dove right at her.
<Bloodless Kill>
The blood wings on her back turned into a red sword, gripped tightly in her hand.
Then she charged at breakneck speed as if fired from a cannon.
Swoosh!-
The red trajectory crossed the ice and sliced through her opponent in a single stroke.
“Khugh!”
Jenny barely managed to create an ice shield, but it shattered like bread, leaving her with a wound to her chest.
At this rate, defending was a pointless endeavor.
Jenny retaliated in kind, summoning her own ice sword and rushing at her opponent.
<Snowfall>
A technique moving at speeds unrecognizable to the human eye.
Rayla found herself on the same track, and their swords collided in a furious flurry.
Kwaang!-
The sounds of blade clashing reverberated as countless marks were etched into the air.
Frozen rocks suddenly shattered, and ice shards caught in the vortex were sliced down to tiny pieces.
Each swing of the sword unleashed a sonic boom.
Amidst that incredible speed, Jenny thought as she met blades.
“She’s slowed down since earlier!”
No matter the circumstance, Rayla was merely a corpse moving on mana.
The very mana that powered her diminished along with her strength.
Even now, the power was draining as they battled.
And most importantly, her earlier massive attack that had obliterated a mountain had taken a heavy toll on her reserves.
As the prolonged fight wore on, the advantage leaned towards Jenny.
But…
“Did you think you could win just by stalling for time?”
Fsshh-
“AAAHH!”
Jenny felt a sharp pain as her sides were cut.
Both fighters executed hundreds of strikes every second, yet Jenny hadn’t landed a single hit.
Meanwhile, her opponent continued getting handicapped but it was still far from easy.
There was clearly a massive gap in swordsmanship skills.
“Why have you stopped? Hurry, try to block me.”
Despite her rough movements, Rayla showed no visible signs of fatigue.
Naturally, as a corpse, she couldn’t feel such pain.
Yet, something was changing in Rayla’s body.
Cracks began to appear on her stone-like face.
“I can do this.”
Seeing that, Jenny bit her lip, sealing her bleeding wounds with ice.
She steadied her resolve and collided blades once more.
This time, she intended to freeze her entire opponent solid by getting in close.
However, Rayla resisted with the surging power of blood.
Szzzurrr!-
Blood and ice began to spread across the ground simultaneously.
In time, they merged into a red crystal, and the swords they had created on the spot functioned to their limits and dissolved.
Their powers continuously clashed.
As a result, a flowerbed formed from the red crystal.
Puh-ack!-
“Khugh!”
Rayla sensed an opening and struck Jenny in the solar plexus with her elbow.
Then she unleashed a mix of knee kicks and blows, pounding her relentlessly.
Considering Jenny had already sustained a large attack, even grazing hits dealt enormous pain, leaving her dazed.
Despite that, she lunged forward desperately trying to embrace Rayla.
But…
“That was predictable.”
Puh-ack!-
Rayla sidestepped the charging Jenny and delivered a brutal kick to her abdomen.
“Cough!”
Jenny doubled over, coughing up blood as she clutched her stomach.
It felt as if her nerve cells were being torn like paper, inhibiting her scream.
Her mind, as well as her vision, began to blur.
It felt like she had forgotten what she was doing here.
Clink-
In the end, she dropped the blue sword she had been grasping.
Now her hands and feet trembled to the extent that she couldn’t hold onto anything.
The most crucial power was no longer manifesting either.
Fwwwhh—
As a sign of that, the blizzards that had been raging began to weaken.
In truth, what had allowed her to move until now was the mana from the Ice Dragon.
However, since Jenny had taken more hits than she dealt, her squeezed strength decreased with every blow received.
It was with the last of her remaining stamina that she invoked a dazzling counter.
“Is that your full power?”
“….”
No answer came.
Jenny stood dazed with unfocused eyes, and it seemed she lacked the strength to even move her lips.
“If this is the end…”
Swish—
“Your life will end too.”
Rayla raised the red sword high into the sky.
With that, she swung it down to finish the job.
Her opponent was practically dead by now.
In this state, it was only right to give her a peaceful end instead of enduring more pain.
“What is…?”
It might have been a misconception, but Jenny gave off an air of unease.
It felt as if she was leading Rayla to swing her sword.
Yet, Rayla swung her sword, disregarding that feeling.
There were no hidden tricks left to reveal to the girl… so she thought.
“Huh?”
Contrary to her expectations, Jenny surprisingly dodged the attack.
No, it wasn’t dodging; she just hadn’t hit her.
What the hell was happening? But the reason became clear quickly.
“This is…!”
Moments ago, the fishing line was tangled around her sword.
But that wasn’t all; fishing lines were tied around her arms and legs like bracelets too.
The reason for the miss was that she was manipulated like a puppet by that line.
Yet, there was something odd.
“This girl shouldn’t have been able to move.”
It was not in a state to control the fishing line.
Someone else intervened and is controlling her artificially.
Who on earth could it be…
*
“Finally, the signal has arrived.”
The blue fishing line tied to my wrist trembled, sending a signal.
Since it was mixed with Jenny’s mana, I could gauge her condition.
“She held on quite a while.”
Fortunately, she wasn’t in mortal danger, but she was in a state where it would be no surprise if she collapsed immediately.
However, there were still ways to provide support from a distance.
[Fishing Line Control Lv30]
I invested all the credits I had acquired into that skill.
I was glad I hadn’t converted it to cash.
As a result, I could now manipulate the fishing line of the far-off Leviathan.
However, the higher my proficiency, the greater the mana consumption.
The amount of consumption increased proportionally to the distance, which meant with several kilometers separating us, I would collapse immediately.
‘I was prepared for it.’
Right now, I am Elder Enviel.
To be precise, I am in a state where I’m harnessing 30% of Lyman’s power.
Thus, I have no need to worry about mana expenditure.
Additionally, using Enviel’s vast experience and knowledge allows me to control the fishing line like a puppet.
‘Though it’s a bit late, I guess.’
I had to remain tied to the fishing line to manipulate it.
However, if I overused such a method from the start, my opponent would surely suspect and be on high alert.
Jenny was fully aware of this, so she endured the beating deliberately.
To create openings for her opponent.
To have the other side expose a weakness at a critical moment.
“Still, that was reckless.”
It was now time to free her from that pain.
I sensed the fishing line far off.
Then, I plucked the fishing line bound to my wrist like a guitar string.
*
Kkkirrr-lieek!-
Rayla’s eyes widened as if struck by lightning.
Sure, she was bound by the fishing line, but her whole body wasn’t entirely constrained.
It was just tied loosely like decorative bracelets. Even so, it dulled her body’s movements.
‘This is dangerous.’
Something felt perilous.
It was the sensation of her entire body being controlled by someone with an unyielding will.
She needed to break free from the fishing line at once.
With her skills, she could sever it in 0.1 seconds.
Crack—
The cracks on her face widened with each passing moment.
It was a clear sign her source of mana was nearly spent.
She needed to get out and receive mana supply quickly.
Otherwise, permitting just one attack would render her unable to act.
‘My body is already!’
This was beyond her expectations.
She could see moments ago that the fishing line-binding technique wouldn’t connect in this way.
With what little strength she had left, she swung her sword.
Yet her arm wouldn’t move.
There should still be some power left.
“I’m not dead yet.”
Jenny spoke.
Despite bleeding from her body, she still stood tall.
Rayla’s sword was connected to the fishing line around Jenny’s wrist.
As Jenny tugged on her sword, she scooped up the fallen blue sword from the floor.
<Chain Silver Style - Deceptive Strike>
From a low stance while picking up the sword, she swung upward.
It was a final strike infused with the last of her remaining mana.
An image of the blue Ice Dragon rising to the sky was painted.
Crash!-
At that moment, she shattered Rayla’s sword.
Now without mana, Rayla’s sword was no more than an ordinary metal.
And then…
Swoosh!-
The blue blade pierced through Rayla’s chest.
Surviving as an Academy Scammer.
