Chapter 18 Aura VS Rein

The ring fell silent as he faced Aura. She stood calmly across from him, wooden sword lowered, but her eyes locked on his.

"This is real. She’s serious. Don’t panic. Relax. I need to make the first move. See how she reacts. Watch her feet, not her blade. That’s where the movement begins. If she steps forward, parry and counter on her right side. Try to bait the overreach. She might bite if—"

Aura moved.

"Left!"

Rein adjusted his grip on his sword. His heart was pounding, not just from nerves, but from excitement. This was the first time he’d stood like this since the day the village fell.

"No more failing."

He dashed forward, opening with a wide horizontal slash. Aura tilted her head back slightly, letting the swing pass inches from her nose.

"Damn—she didn’t even step back. Just leaned. Am I too slow?"

Aura answered with a high cut, then a low feint that turned into a spin. Rein ducked just in time — the blade missed his face by a breath. The air pressure alone sliced across his cheek.

He tried to follow up with a step-in thrust, quick and direct, aimed center mass. Her sword rose casually, knocking his aside.

Then she moved.

Her first counterattack came with no wind-up. Her blade swept toward his ribs. He twisted his body to avoid it, barely—air pressure sliced his jacket, a shallow red line opening on his side.

"That was a wooden sword!? A wooden sword… did that? I can’t keep up. Not like this. She’s reading every move before I make it."

She pressed in. Stroke after stroke. Rein blocked, parried, sidestepped, but he was being driven back. Her strikes blurred, wooden edge kissing his guard with the speed and force of real steel.

He risked a look—she wasn’t even breathing hard.

"She’s holding back, too. Not completely, but she’s still not serious. I can’t match her in pure swordplay. If I can force her to block a spell…"

Then he saw it. She retreated two steps, just enough space between them. Her weight shifted slightly.

"Opening. Firebolt!”

The spell surged from his palm like a lance of burning lightning — no chant, no delay. It tore through the air straight at her.

"You’ll have to dodge this. You can’t—"

She raised her arm and swatted the spell aside with the back of her hand. It exploded in a shower of sparks, harmless.

"She swatted my firebolt?! A tier 3 spell! Swatted it?! Like an annoying bug?!"

Before the sparks cleared, she was on him.

Low stance. Sudden burst of speed. Her body flowed like a wave—impossibly fast, blade rising at an angle. Rein tried to pivot, raise his sword—too slow.

"I can’t block this. She’s faster. No way to parry it directly. I’ll have to redirect it somehow. Step left, roll—"

The wooden blade stopped just at his chest. A gentle tap. A killing blow in any real fight.

The match was over.

Rein stood still, heart thundering. Sweat streamed down his face.

"She didn’t even go all out. That wasn’t her full strength. I couldn't land a single clean hit. Even my magic was useless. She’s on another level. I couldn’t even touch her. I’m not even close. But… I’m still standing. This is good. This is what I needed. Now I know what the gap looks like. And I’m going to close it."

Aura stepped back, blade lowering. She gave him a soft, almost apologetic smile.

“You fought well, Rein.” 

He bowed his head slightly.

“Thank you, Aura. That’s exactly what I needed. Now I know the gap but don't think I'm giving up. I will catch up to you. I will get stronger, just like you. That's a promise.”

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One Year Later

In the year that followed, the training grounds of the Hero Wing echoed daily with the clash of blades. Aura and Rein. They sparred at sunrise, sometimes again before dinner. Rain, snow, sun — it didn’t matter. If Rein was awake, he was training. And if he was training, it was with her.

At first, it wasn’t a contest.

 Rein had to fight with everything he had just to survive her strikes. Day by day, month by month, he grew faster. Stronger. Smarter.

The clash of wooden swords echoed across the yard. Dust rose from the packed dirt under Rein’s boots as he stepped back, breathing hard, eyes locked on the girl in front of him.

Aura stood still, barely tired, her breathing steady. Too steady. Rein’s own chest was heaving, his shirt clinging to him.

“Hey! I thought I was close this time. But you’re still ahead. Way ahead.”

Aura smiled faintly. 

“You’ve gotten stronger. I had to stop holding back as much.”

"What? She's still holding back? Still? Come on."

She nodded politely, then turned and walked away, leaving Rein standing in the middle of the yard.

“When she sees I’m close to her level, she shifts gears again. Like she’s testing me. Like she’s dragging me forward, step by step, never letting me stop. And I… I don’t hate it. I need it. There’s no one else here who can make her move like that. No one else she goes all out on. I’m the only one who gets to see her like this.”

The rest of the cadets had stopped trying. They didn’t say it out loud, but everyone knew: Aura was the sword of the kingdom. If anyone was to be named Hero, it would be her.

And Rein — he had become the shadow just behind her. Stronger than all the rest and always chasing her back.

The king had noticed. So had the court. So had the people.

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Later that evening

Rein headed back from the washroom, towel over his shoulder, passing near the side path behind the training grounds — where few cadets ever went.

That’s when he saw them.