---

“From now on-! Iron Fist Ian vs. Blood Rose Fray! The match between Blood Rose Fray and Iron Fist Ian begins! Please give a warm cheer to our audience!”

“Wooooaaaah!!”

“Blood Rose! Crush that arrogant rookie!”

“I’ve staked it all on you today, Iron Fist! End this in one blow!!”

As both fighters entered the coliseum, Silvia, disguised as the commentator, stirred up the audience’s excitement with her enthusiastic voice.

It was incredible that she could transform into a completely different person without the fear of being recognized in front of past comrades. Her disguise skills were truly unrivaled.

“Really noisy…”

Blood Rose, or rather Frida, smiled at the audience’s cheers, her lips curling up in a smirk.

“But I like it. I’ve missed the heat of the coliseum. Haven’t you?”

I responded nonchalantly, crossing my arms.

“I’m not so sure about that.”

“Hm, so you’re not one to enjoy a good fight? But I love dueling strong opponents. So, I hope you can hold out without breaking my mood.”

“……”

Frida von Sternlicht.

A master of the Imperial Palace Swordsmanship. An elite swordswoman leading the hero party and the current deputy commander of the Royal Guard.

It was no surprise she was called the coliseum champion. It was said her swordsmanship had already reached master class levels.

Just as the gap between an ordinary person and someone who could wield physical techniques is vast, those who reach the master level among superhumans are on a completely different plane from those who cannot.

Even if someone could merely produce sword energy with physical techniques, it would be nearly impossible to counter the sword power of a master class.

Of course, the bluish light bursting from her rapier at that moment was sword energy, not sword power.

To swing sword power in such a coliseum would be akin to loudly declaring oneself as one of the few master classes in the Empire.

However, compared to typical users of physical techniques, her sword energy was extremely stable.

Whereas ordinary sword energy might rise like fog or blaze like fire, her sword energy was at the threshold just before transforming into sword power, steady and unwavering.

Those who reach a higher level naturally possess a sword energy that is also at a different level than that of the ordinary. If she wanted, that sword could easily transform into sword power at any moment.

And even without needing to go that far, with her master-level swordsmanship and sharp sword energy, she could easily defeat most opponents.

But.

That didn’t apply to me.

“Why is that? Aren’t you coming in?”

“Hm…”

I hadn’t expected to run into someone unexpected at an unexpected place in an unexpected situation, but in the end, this was a coliseum and the match was already underway.

Since I had come here for a purpose, it was time to do what I needed to.

I silently unfolded my arms, extending my hand and waving my fingers back and forth.

At this simple provocation, the audience’s cheers grew louder, and Frida’s smile twisted into fury.

“Hah? What a funny guy… Fine, then I’ll go first!”

Frida brandished her rapier with a sharp, eerie thrust aimed at my head, showcasing her mastery.

I tilted my head slightly to avoid the thrust. For most, such a dodge would have given them an opening for a counterattack, but she was not like that.

“Hah!”

The master’s attack meant predicting the opponent’s movements several steps ahead, so she already knew I would evade. Therefore, she altered her thrust into a slashing cut.

However, I was expecting that move as well. As I bent my waist to evade the sweeping sword, Frida raised her voice, as if thrilled.

“You’re good at dodging! Let’s see if you can dodge this!”

Frida took a light breath and began mercilessly swinging her sword in all directions.

Normally, a rapier focuses on cutting power, not swinging. But if it contained sword energy, the situation was different.

As her slashes cut sharply through the coliseum floor and iron bars, the audience nearby recoiled in horror.

It was like flowers blooming made of blades.

Though I had never seen such a technique during the war, it was clear why she had earned the nickname Blood Rose.

I quickly moved my feet, narrowly dodging Frida’s rapier. It was vital to maintain a distance where her blade could almost reach me, neither too far nor too close.

That way, to the audience’s eyes, it would appear as if I was narrowly evading every attack.

As this precarious spectacle unfolded, the audience was more enthusiastic and engaged than ever.

“Woooaaah!!”

“Blood Rose’s Rose Barrage! I can’t believe I’m seeing this up close!”

“But Iron Fist is dodging all of it! This match is really something!!”

After a flurry of sharp slashes, Frida finally stopped and exhaled a breath she’d been holding.

Instead of rushing back in right away, she slightly lowered her sword, her face filled with admiration.

“It’s honestly impressive that you could dodge my Rose Barrage without even using physical techniques. That reaction speed, those physical abilities… it’s almost a shame to kill you here.”

“Talking as if it’s all done. The match hasn’t even finished yet.”

“Only because it hasn’t finished that I say this. You’ve dodged well so far, but if you fail to dodge just once, that moment will be your death.”

“Well, I managed to dodge better than I expected.”

“Heh, how cute. Men are all so full of themselves in front of women, it’s a problem.”

“……”

“Iron Fist, be honest. Swear to follow me. Then I won’t kill you here and will take you under my wing. Not only that, I’ll even make you my disciple.”

I was so taken aback by her absurd proposition that I momentarily lost my words.

However, perhaps mistaking my silence for contemplation about her proposal, Frida continued.

“Seeing you not using physical techniques must mean you have potential but lack the proper environment. Judging by your voice and features, you look to be in your early to mid-twenties…”

Though her guess was off the mark, it wasn’t entirely incorrect if one looked closely.

The truth is, my body’s age had indeed halted around that age.

Frida seemed to interpret my noncommittal attitude as an agreement, nodding in satisfaction as she spoke.

“Iron Fist. I will teach you the mana cultivation techniques, so become my disciple and serve me. Just know that I don’t extend this offer to just anyone. This may be a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.”

“Uuuuuuu!!”

“What are you two doing? Fight! Hurry up and fight!!”

As the fighters in the coliseum simply conversed without fighting, jeers and shouts erupted from the audience.

However, Frida paid no mind to the audience’s jeers and patiently awaited my answer. In her gaze was the ease that only a strong person could possess, someone who didn’t think they would be rejected.

It was as if she considered herself the true strong one.

I found that simply amusing.

“What’s there to think about? Oh, do you find the proposal so good that you’re suspicious? No need for that. I swear on my honor that this proposal is genuine.”

“Honor, huh…”

“Yes. Honor. While I can’t declare it publicly, my true identity is of a noble one that someone like you wouldn’t dare approach-”

“Throwing away thousands of soldiers like they were trash, and yet you spew about honor.”

“……What?”

Frida first looked confused at my words, then her expression shifted to one of shock as she gazed at me.

She looked so surprised that the aloofness she’d shown earlier had completely vanished.

“You… how did you know about my identity…?”

“Being a former champion of the coliseum, I never would have guessed that the Iron-Blooded Knight enjoyed such childish games. Did you want to toy with someone weaker than you, making yourself look like a real champion?”

I smirked.

“You say you enjoy fighting strong opponents? How laughable. You wouldn’t even think of fighting a true strong one and instead fled, sacrificing soldiers.”

“W-What do you mean…?”

There was a reason why Frida was called the Iron-Blooded Knight.

Commonly, people say her sharp swordsmanship and exemplary demeanor as a guardian knight gave rise to the name Iron-Blooded Knight, but the reality is different.

During the war, she was a member of the hero party who earned the Emperor’s trust, commanding the Imperial Army and sacrificing soldiers first on every front.

It must have been a strategy to minimize the losses of the hero party. However, to the frontline soldiers, it was effectively a command akin to death.

There were rumors that the order came from the hero behind the scenes, but if one looks at the facts, it was she who effectively transmitted the orders to the soldiers. Thus, soldiers on the front lines often exchanged dark jokes among themselves.

They would say that Frida’s body flowed with cold iron, not blood.

This was the true origin of the name “Iron-Blooded Knight.”

Frida took a long breath to calm her shocked mind and then properly gripped her rapier again.

Now, her eyes shone with an unmistakable murderous intent.

“I don’t know how you found out my identity, but I clearly heard your desperate plea to be killed.”

Now it appeared she had no intention of hiding her identity as a thick, blue-hued magical sword gleamed around her blade. The brilliance of her sword power caused the audience to gasp, mouths agape.

At first, I had been skeptical of the label “Iron-Blooded Knight,” but seeing the sword power Blood Rose unleashed, I could no longer disbelieve it.

“So now, kill me.”

Once more, flowers bloomed from Frida’s hands.

The scene of flowers blooming from sword power was both beautiful and destructive. Iron bars and the floor touched by sword power did not merely crack; they disappeared as if evaporated by extreme heat.

If one were to touch even a tiny bit of that flower of sword power, the blue petals would instantaneously turn crimson.

I stepped into that destructive sword dance myself.

Frida erupted with laughter.

“To choose death willingly! You must really be dazed in front of my swordsmanship!”

Of course, that was not the case.

No matter how strong the sword energy, it was ultimately a person who wielded it. Having analyzed the Imperial Palace swordsmanship before, I could generally predict how Frida’s sword would move.

Amidst her frenzied strikes, I cleverly dodged Frida’s blade while lightly tapping non-blade areas to disrupt her movements.

Fingers, wrists, elbows, shoulders, knees… As I grazed each vital spot needed for wielding her sword, the flowers she had bloomed began to fade.

Then, at one moment, that flower completely vanished. Seeing her technique fully dismantled, Frida wore a look of disbelief.

“What is… this?”

It was a natural outcome.

Just as an ordinary person cannot hope to withstand a superhuman who has learned physical techniques.

Just as a superhuman cannot match a master class who wields sword power.

Even a master, regardless of the absence of magical power, cannot defeat one who has reached the grand master level.

“Don’t use the same technique twice in front of me.”

I punched Frida squarely in the face.

The sound of her red mask shattering echoed as the bones in her face cracked, and Frida rolled on the ground, her bloodied face rendering her unable to scream.

“Not going to work.”

 

---