Chapter 67: The Grandmaster

"Hey, Isaac."

"Hmm?"

The battlefield had lasted for about two more days. By the time Blackson had lost both the will and the forces to resist any longer,

Sharen cautiously approached and glanced at him before asking,

"Do you smoke, by any chance?"

"Hmm?"

The sudden question caught him off guard. But then, Sharen wrinkled her nose and covered it.

"I was going to rest in your tent for a bit, but the smell of some really strong tobacco was so bad that I just came out."

"...."

There were several things in Sharen's words that he wanted to address.

First of all, why was she trying to rest in his tent instead of her own?

But that wasn't the most pressing matter, so he let it slide for now.

"Tobacco smell?"

"Yeah! It was really awful. Were you sitting there, feeling the bitterness of divorce, thinking, 'Is this what life is?' or something like that?"

"Where the hell did you learn that?"

"I saw knights doing it. It happened a lot in the North."

"...."

It was true that many people in the North smoked.

"But the smell was way stronger than what I smelled in the North. I was really surprised. Helmut has a good nose, you know."

Despite losing Galenia, Sharen was holding up well. At first, Isaac had worried that she might revert to her old, naïve self. But seeing her overcome her grief and move forward made him feel proud.

"I don't smoke."

"Really? Then doesn't that mean someone went into your tent and smoked there?"

"...."

Strong tobacco?

With a growing sense of unease, Isaac started walking.

That's impossible.

Even as he rationalized that it couldn't be, a small, writhing sense of anticipation stirred within him.

The moment he arrived in front of the tent, a faint yet sharp scent of strong tobacco wafted to his nose.

[This is life.]

The voice of the Grand Master, who used to say such things with a smile. Isaac, having been a smoker himself at one point, knew just how potent the Grand Master's tobacco was. The way she would say embarrassing things while exhaling smoke was oddly endearing.

It wasn't that she enjoyed saying those things—she enjoyed the reactions of those who heard them. That was the Grand Master.

"Ugh! The smell!"

"Sharen, stay here."

Leaving Sharen behind, Isaac stepped into the tent.

As a member of Helmont, he had been given a rather impressive personal tent.

Inside, a black-haired woman stood with a cigarette in her mouth.

Wolf ears perked atop her head.

AA massive sword slung over her shoulder.

A gaze as sharp as a blade, with eyes that held the moonlight.

A fluffy, curved tail behind her.

'Master…!'

The words almost slipped from his lips before he could stop himself.

That was how much he had missed her—how much this unexpected reunion caught him off guard.

She was supposed to be in the Rocky Mountains, so why was she here, in his tent, of all places?

"Fuu…"

The Grandmaster silently exhaled a cloud of smoke before looking at Isaac.

"It's a good thing the red-haired kid didn't come in because of the strong smell."

The meaning was clear.

If Sharen had stepped inside, she would have had to die.

She had no intention of revealing herself to anyone besides Isaac.

"And you are…?"

"You may consider me a noble guest. I have a keen interest in your sword."

The Grandmaster spoke, pressing her massive sword into the ground, a cigarette in her mouth.

The act of wielding the sword itself was enough to convey her message.

"I have many questions, but time is short, so I won't be able to ask them all."

"..."

"I watched your duel. The rumors that you dismantled Helmut's swordsmanship were not false."

Had she seen his duel against Lohengrin?

Isaac couldn't help but feel a sense of pride.

After all, being acknowledged by the Grandmaster was no small feat.

"Hah… Originally, I came here to recruit you. To ask if you would walk the same path as us."

"Recruit me?"

Was the Grandmaster affiliated with some group?

Isaac didn't know much about the Grandmaster's past at this point in time.

But before he could ask—

"However, there is something I must ask first."

The Grandmaster's gaze turned sharp and cold as he spoke.

"Who is your master?"

Isaac almost answered instinctively.

But the moment he closed his open mouth, the Grandmaster seemed to realize that he had no intention of answering and nodded.

"I ask because your master is likely someone I am familiar with."

Twitch.

Her wolf ears perked up.

At that moment—

Clang!

Both of their swords were drawn simultaneously.

Both of their swords were drawn simultaneously. If her wolf ears hadn't moved first, Isaac wouldn't have been able to react in time.

"...!"

The one more surprised, however, was the Grandmaster.

It was the Grand Master who was surprised.

She hadn't expected him to counter her 'Iaido' with the same technique.

"What are you doing?"

Isaac, bewildered, demanded an answer. The Grand Master replied with a sad look in her eyes.

"I didn't mean any harm. I would have stopped before reaching your neck."

"..."

"A clue to the friends I thought I had lost. That clue is you. Tell me, who is your master?"

This was the first time Isaac had ever seen the Grandmaster like this, and it left him shaken.

'Friends?'

Even in his past life, the Grandmaster had never spoken about her past.

No one had ever asked, and she had never bothered to answer.

"I thought I had lost them all. But seeing your sword, it's clear that you are of the same school as I."

Perhaps this was the reason the Grand Master had taken on disciples all this time, and why she had never spoken of her past.

"I want to see my friends again."

The Grandmaster's plea, almost desperate, darkened Isaac's expression.

'Damn it…'

His chest ached.

He couldn't bring himself to say, I learned my swordsmanship from you.

He would only be giving her false hope.

'Should I tell her?'

If it was the Grandmaster, she would surely understand.

Just as Isaac was hesitating—

"A beast has arrived."

The Grandmaster's eyes gleamed as she leaped back.

At that moment, the tent was cleanly sliced in two, revealing a murky sky and howling winds.

A massive greatsword had come between Isaac and the Grandmaster.

It was Arandel Helmut's.

"You know how to play cheap tricks, I see."

He rested the massive sword on his shoulder.

Arandel stepped in front of Isaac, blocking his path and glaring at the Grandmaster.

The Grandmaster, in turn, let out a short chuckle and sheathed her sword.

"I can see what kind of misunderstanding you have, but I have no connection to the Transcendents of Blackson."

The sudden commotion drew the attention of nearby knights.

Sharen, who had been just outside, rushed over in alarm and stood beside Isaac.

"Are you okay?!"

"This is…"

Dangerous.

The Grandmaster was, by all accounts, a Transcendent.

Strictly speaking, she was a half-blood, but unlike Jonathan, her Transcendent lineage was stronger, giving her distinct ears and a tail.

And now, they were at war with the Transcendentals.

If he defended the Grand Master here, he could be branded a traitor to humanity.

But Isaac didn't hesitate.

"Father! She's not an enemy!"

But Isaac didn't care.

He stepped forward urgently and shouted, causing Arandel's eyes to twitch.

"Oh?"

The Grand Master, on the other hand, looked at Isaac with newfound interest.

Isaac had hoped the Grand Master would take the opportunity to flee, but unfortunately, she stood her ground and declared,

"I will take him with me."

"Wait—!"

The Grand Master was now convinced that Isaac held information about her lost friends. Even with Arandel standing before her, she refused to back down, a testament to how desperate she was.

But in return, she would have to face the consequences.

"Not yet—"

Arandel stepped past Isaac.

Extending his massive greatsword to block the space between them, his crimson eyes gleamed faintly.

"This boy is a Helmut."

As Arandel declared his intent not to hand Isaac over, the Grandmaster's lips twisted into a smirk.

Kaang!

A flash of steel, several times faster than the Iaido she had used on Isaac earlier. Even Isaac barely caught the movement as her sword was drawn.

"Huh…"

A gash appeared on Arandel's shoulder.

But it was the Grand Master whose expression darkened.

"Stubborn fool."

She had likely intended to sever his arm, but all she managed was a shallow wound. The Grand Master clicked her tongue in frustration.

Regardless, the line had already been crossed.

This was no longer a situation Isaac could resolve by stepping in.

"At least someone decent has appeared."

A deep, blood-red aura—Crimson Descent—erupted from Arandel's body.

Its sheer overwhelming force instantly dominated the surroundings.

Where once it had been directed at armies, now his full power was focused on a single opponent.

"Tsk."

The Grandmaster clicked her tongue at the sight of Arandel's aura.

"How barbaric."

Though she spoke dismissively, the Grand Master didn't let her guard down for a moment. She gripped her Greatsword with both hands, searching for an opening, but she knew it wouldn't be easy.

Even in his past life, the Grandmaster had described Arandel as a suppressive force capable of overwhelming even Transcendents.

Her words were a backhanded compliment, acknowledging Arandel's strength.

A fierce battle was inevitable.

But truthfully, it was hard to imagine Arandel losing to anyone in a one-on-one swordfight.

Arandel swung his greatsword.

No—swinging wasn't the right word.

The Crimson Descent contained within his blade raged like a storm, surging towards the Grandmaster.

It was far grander and more immense than any sword strike Arandel had unleashed on the battlefield of Blackson.

"…!"

Yet, as if defying the very laws of physics, a single sharp line was drawn across the crimson storm.

The Crimson Descent, split neatly in half.

And from the gap emerged the Grandmaster.

[Aura? What nonsense. Once you reach the peak, you no longer need such things.]

She meant it literally.

Unlike Isaac, who relied on the mana of Bricalla to pierce through Aura—

The Grandmaster had simply cut through Arandel's Crimson Descent with her sword alone.

To the knights of Helmut, who revered Aura above all, this sight must have been nothing short of shocking.

But Arandel did not waver.

If anything, it seemed as though he had been waiting for this moment.

As the Grandmaster lunged toward him, Arandel met him head-on, crossing blades with him.

Kwaang!

The air itself exploded as their swords clashed, and the battle of those who had reached the pinnacle of swordsmanship began.