＜ 134. Untimely Winter (4) ＞
#134
“Let’s compete with me.”
Nabirose pulled the hilt. The secret sword Ursa appeared with the sound of iron clashing.
One of the masterpieces that Doron is proud of. The sword, which had been made by mixing ten types of ore, was shining as dark green as her pupils.
Ronan stood stunned. All of a sudden I didn’t know what was going on. Nabirose urged him with an irritated tone.
“What? Pick it up.”
“Damn, I don’t know what it is…”
Ronan with a tongue stuck out drew his sword. Today’s Nabi Rose was somehow strange. The sensitive and eccentric was like a cat pierced by a rose.
Shreung! The dark blade of La Mancha scattered a shadow. Ymir was still pinned to his waist.
“Aren’t you using a dagger?”
“yes.”
Ronan nodded. I didn’t think I’d be able to even get the main battle if I set it halfway with a double sword. Nabi Rose, who took the pose, sang lowly.
“Come in full force.”
The voice was sincere. Whatever the reason, it was clear that he was sincere.
Ronan grabbed the hilt instead of answering. Whoops! A dizzying crimson color came up on a sword. Somehow, it seemed that it was much easier to feed mana to the sword than before. Nabirose shrugged her eyebrows.
“is it. Did you go there?”
“You mean there?”
“You have a core. Your true core.”
Ronan’s eyes widened. After that, I felt my heart beating differently from before. It must be said that something hotter than blood is moving.
‘Is this also the aftermath of Haeju…?’
Perhaps this is the reason why the body has become lighter. The two retreated about thirty steps apart. After confirming that Ronan had taken a pose, Nabi Rose opened her mouth.
“I will start.”
Ronan nodded. At the same time, the shape of the butterfly disappeared from view. pop! A green flash of light flashed, and a sword shot from where she was standing.
“Nimi…!”
Ronan let out a swear word. Two crescent moons were flying towards him. The sword that crossed and flew across seemed to be 30m long.
As I concentrated my mind, I saw Nabirose running close behind the sword. The moment he saw it, Ronan realized how much she was hiding her skills during her class. It was at a speed that I would not have even been able to react at two years ago.
‘It’s fun.’
But apart from the embarrassment, I could feel the blood boiling. It was a battle with the previous generation swordsman who had been waiting for so long. bang! Relying on his intuition, Ronan leapt off the ground.
‘high···!’
The lighter body soared higher than expected. The sword had come close to his eyes. Ronan swung forward and swung his sword.
Scratch! The blade drew a circle and cut both sides of the intersection of the two swords. The sword split into four pieces flew behind Ronan.
Aww! The swords hitting the wall caused an explosion. Remnants of mana fluttered like sparks. The running butterfly rose hastily stopped. Ronan rotates one more wheel and lowers his sword. A slash, amplified by several times its power, fell on the head of Nabirose.
“Ugh!”
“that···!”
Nabirose’s face hardened. It looked like his spinning sword, but it was subtly different. With a calm and sharp sword, he had definitely seen it somewhere.
The question raised his head, but there was no time to think about it now. Holding the hilt with both hands, she responded to the attack. Two blades collided in mid-air.
Kaa-!
The sound of metal and the sound of a pounding sound mixed and resounded. The windows that could not withstand the shock wave were shattered. Surprised by each other’s strength, the two clenched their teeth.
“Ugh!”
“Wow!”
However, no one was pushed back. After a brief struggle, the two raised their swords again.
Kagang! Kang! Quick swords that far surpassed cognition collided in succession. Each time the blades touched, a reddish-green flash of light appeared in the air. Suddenly, a question flashed into Ronan’s eyes.
‘what?’
Something was strange. As the sum was divided, the sense of heterogeneity increased. But there was no way to check right now, so Ronan grabbed the hilt. Hwareuk! A pulsing red light from the inside of the sword rose to the surface.
“I’m seriously going.”
“It’s cheesy.”
Nabirose twisted her lips. thud! Ronan, who gave a brief cheer, rolled his right foot. Shiny roots that grew in an instant wrapped around Nabirose’s body.
“This···.”
Nabirose’s eyes widened. It was a car where Ronan was swinging a sword towards her in bondage. Kwajik! The feet that ripped off the roots and protruded were thrust into Ronan’s abdomen.
“Big!”
Ronan clenched his teeth. It was a shock as if the intestines were turned over. He swung his sword as he bounced off. pop! A crimson sword was fired towards Nabirose.
However, it was not the existing crescent shape, but an organic form like a spray. Ronan burst into laughter at the transformation of the sword he had longed for.
“Fuck it!”
“You finally did it.”
Nabi Rose smirked. A red torrent was rushing in. She lightly rotated her sword and defended the sword. Kwagwagwang! The liquid anticipation pounded Urusa’s sword incessantly. Suddenly, a voice came from behind.
“Also.”
The hair on the back of his neck stood up. Nabirose hurriedly turned her head. Ronan, who suddenly returned to the back, was swinging his sword horizontally. A rapid slash was flying with its red tail.
“ね・・・!”
Nabirose, who hastily turned around, took a defensive posture. However, Ronan’s slashing was already near his nose. At this distance, Urusa will be pushed back and hit me. She clenched her teeth, realizing that she was one step late.
“···········?”
However, no collision occurred. La Mancha was stopped right in front of Daetaedo. A wrinkle formed between Nabirose’s forehead.
“What is this doing?”
Ronan didn’t answer. As soon as he lowered his sword, the color of La Mancha returned to its original state. Nabirose, whose face was even more distorted, growled low.
“I asked what you were doing.”
“When everything gets better, we’ll stick together again.”
Ronan said quietly. Snow was seeping through the broken window. Nabirose frowned.
“what?”
“It’s not normal, instructor. Did you have an accident?”
In an instant, a terrible silence descended. After a few seconds of silence, she opened her mouth.
“. . . I was not hurt.”
“Damn it, then what the hell happened? Why are you not writing everything? There is too much clutter in the movement.”
Ronan listed the incidents he felt like a rapid-fire cannon. Nabirose’s ability as a whole had deteriorated. It was as good as the ferocious momentum, but I have to say that’s all. From the moment I meditated, I thought something was strange, but I didn’t know it was this much.
“Ronan….”
“Tell me honestly. What’s the matter?”
For the first time, I hated Adeshan. It’s a shame that everyone is healthy. Considering the degree of degeneration, it was clear that he had injured a fatal part as a prosecutor.
either an arm or a leg. You must have lied to reassure me. Nabi Rose, who had not spoken for a long time, opened her mouth with difficulty.
“…we lost to Jaifa.”
“yes?”
“Literally. It happened earlier this year. I couldn’t keep my composure.”
Nabirose sighed. At the beginning of this year, she re-challenged Jaifa for the position of the swordsman, but was ultimately defeated.
There were no injuries, but the focus was on losing despite the retry. Ronan frowned.
“Wait, wait, so there are no injuries? Not even one?”
“okay. Didn’t you tell me before?”
Nabirose nodded her head. It was like he was talking about something from the beginning. Ronan sighed in relief as he swallowed the profanity that reached up to his throat.
‘Damn it, you’re surprising people.’
Ten years seemed old. Adeshan wasn’t lying. He opened his mouth as he ruffled his bangs.
“Damn, I’m glad I didn’t get hurt. I thought any arm had been cut off and replaced with a prosthetic.”
“Well. Perhaps it would have been better that way.”
“yes?”
“I am convinced of this fight. I can’t beat that cat for the rest of my life.”
She said that she realized her limitations after the last fight. It came as a great shock to Nabirose, who had only overcome her whole life except for Jaipa and the gray-haired man.
Not only will I not be able to show my skills, of course, I will not be able to bring out all of her auras. Nabirose smiled bitterly.
“It’s a childish attitude. I’m sorry for showing you a shameful side.”
“Instructor.”
Ronan twisted his lips. I never imagined that a person who never seemed to be broken would become like this. Nabi Rose, who quietly looked up at Ronan, opened her mouth.
“Still… it’s a little better now.”
“yes?”
“Because, unlike me, another student with potential has appeared.”
Ronan lowered his gaze. Nabirose’s face became brighter. She put her sword in and tapped Ronan’s chest.
“You’ve grown so much that it’s embarrassing to compare with before… What the hell happened in the last two years?”
“I just came here to take a look around myself.”
“Someone came after awakening the Auror, and you make me happy in this way again.”
Saying that, Nabirose looked really happy. He could feel the darkness that had been cast on his face lifted a little.
“I shouldn’t be a shameful teacher either.”
Seeing that he was able to forget his own pain through the achievement of a disciple, he was also a natural teacher. The two briefly exchanged their recent status.
“You met Adeshan before coming here? And yet he didn’t tell me about my condition.”
“I didn’t say it. He said he had to listen with his own mouth.”
“Anyway, good boy. Not even my assistant anymore.”
“I think so. That, Instructor. I have one request.”
Nabirose tilted her head. Ronan opened his mouth. When she heard that she wanted to go to Rodolan, she shrugged her eyebrows.
“It’s Rodolan. Are you planning to go see the Witch of Winter?”
“yes.”
“I knew it would. As soon as you return, you throw yourself into the vortex.”
Ronan scratched his head as if he had no face. Nabi Rose, who had touched her chin for a moment, shook her head.
“I get it. Contact Inquisitor Karaka.”
“thanks.”
“Instead, don’t do anything reckless. The festival of swords will be held soon.”
“Hey, what am I going to do?”
“Whatever it was, I did it. And that’s just pretty noisy stuff.”
The two who were facing each other giggled at the same time. Nabirose picked up the scattered canteen. She wiped away the remaining water and opened her mouth.
“Ronan.”
“yes?”
“It’s nice to be back.”
Nabirose turned her back with those words. I could see the speed of the footsteps as if running away. It was a strange person to feel ashamed of. Ronan looked at her back and smiled.
“Me too.”
****
Although the sun was setting, the sky was cloudy. There was an irregular sound of the wind like weeping. Each time the moonlight appeared through the clouds, the snow on the floor shone softly.
Nabirose said he would receive a reply from Rodolan tomorrow at the latest. After talking to her, Ronan immediately left the Gallerion Pavilion.
It was to find a new club building. Originally, I was going to visit him a little later, but I had no choice but to go to Marya because she had to come today.
“Obviously I was here…”
Ronan, who had reached the northern side of the campus, looked around. Originally, the garden, where flowers and trees were in full bloom, turned into a pure white snowy field. Even after washing my eyes, I couldn’t find a building that could be used as a club building.
‘Damn, didn’t I tell you the wrong thing?’
Ronan pulled out a cigarette and spit out a swear word. It was difficult to light the fire because of the non-stop snow. Then a familiar voice came from not far away.
“Lo, Ronan! This is it!”
“Huh?”
Ronan turned his head. There was a little rat the size of a rat wearing a fur coat and trembling. Tulip-red hair looked better than the lamp in his hand.
“Were you there?”
Ronan brushed off the wet cigarette and moved on. Asher was completely frozen and turning into a snowman. Ronan frowned.
“Are you okay, ma’am?”
“Hey, I thought I’d get lost, so I came out for a while…”
“Twitch, you’re stupid.”
Ronan wiped the snow off his hat. Behind Asher was a small building. At best, it was a small, unobtrusive building that could be used as a warehouse, but the exterior walls were pure white and the roof was covered with snow, so I didn’t see it. Ronan frowned.
“The old man Kratir deceived me.”
“Oh, no… you’ll be surprised when you go inside.”
“Yeah, that’s right.”
Ronan grumbled and entered the building. As soon as the door was closed, the sound of the wind subsided.
A small lamp flew overhead. The rectangular space was filled with thick piles of firewood.
“It’s amazing. A wood bed.”
“Hey, it’s all a lie. The stairs come up suddenly, so be careful.”
“what?”
Ronan tilted his head. Asher stepped forward without hesitation. Ronan’s eyes widened as he saw his leg just pass through the firewood. Surprisingly, the firewood were all hallucinations without substance.
‘It was quite a lot of work.’
It was an advanced technique only seen in the library of the Tower of Dawn. Shortly after walking through the fake firewood, a staircase leading down appeared.
It was quite steep and deep. There was a delicious smell coming from somewhere. Ronan, who was going down the stairs, asked Asher.
“Then why did you say no today? There are many other days.”
“Well, that’s….”
Asher scratched her cheek and avoided her gaze. It was obvious that he was hiding something by not answering the threat of tying his hair in two.
When I finally reached the end of the stairs, my view was wide open. Asher cried.
“Hey, I brought it!”
“Ah, finally.”
Ronan’s eyes widened. There was something crowded with people.
It was all familiar and longing, but for now, surprise outweighs joy. Seeing the new club, Ronan burst out laughing.
“…this crazy old man.”
